Market-moving news was lacking this session. In turn, stocks traded with little direction and finished with mixed results.
All three major indices fell to losses in excess of 1% in the early going. Only the Nasdaq was able to finish with a gain, thanks to help from large-cap tech stocks. Microsoft (MSFT 17.83, +0.73) was a primary leader in its space. It staged its largest single-session advance in more than one week, enabling it to reclaim losses in the prior two sessions.
Large-cap industrial stocks sent the the Dow to new lows for 2009. The Dow is up 6.5% from its bear market low, though. General Electric (GE 11.62, -0.51) was a primary laggard in the Dow and the industrial sector (-2.5%), which was the worst performing sector in the S&P 500. Shares of GE actually registered a 13-year low amid ongoing concerns regarding the health of the company's capital arm. GE remains one of the only companies to boast a AAA credit rating, though.
Financial stocks, which have led the market in recent weeks, managed to finish a volatile session with a 0.2% gain. Financials were down as much as 3.5%.
Investors continue awaiting further details regarding a government-led plan to help restore the nation's financial system. Though there is doubt that any such plan will spur an immediate recovery, investors are anxious to make progress. According to The Wall Street Journal, Treasury Secretary Geithner indicated he will lay out plans for the financial crisis in his speech next week.
With the health of the financial system and the broader economy still uncertain, companies continue to issue warnings and make cuts where necessary. Macy's (M 8.59, -0.36) projects lower earnings for fiscal 2009 and is cutting dividend to $0.05 per share from $0.1325 per share. Macy's also plans to eliminate some 7,000 jobs. Shares of M dragged retailers 0.3% lower this session.
There was some economic data released this morning, but it came with little surprise. Hard pressed by ongoing headwinds, personal spending in December was down 1%, while personal income decreased 0.2%. The personal spending data was largely reflected already in last week's advance fourth quarter GDP report. Meanwhile, January ISM Manufacturing came in a better-than-expected 35.6. The consensus called for a reading of just 32.5. Still, the data reflect continued contraction in manufacturing.
Construction spending in December fell 1.4%, which is a bit steeper than the 1.2% decline that was widely expected. The drop in December indicates an accelerated decline from the 1.2% decline registered in the prior month.
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