The Dow Gains 33 Points, Nasdaq Falls 3

June 20, 2006 5:09 PM EDT
The Dow gained 32.73 points today to close at 10974.84, the Nasdaq fell 3.36 points to close at 2107.06 and the S&P 500 slipped 0.02 points to close at 1240.12. Markets closed mixed today on light volume as investors remain cautious before the upcoming Federal Reserve decision on interest rates. A stronger than expected rise in new home construction left investors optimistic on the condition of the overall economy. However, a lack of economic data will most likely keep investors sidelined until the fed meeting on June 28-29. Oil fell $0.21 to close at $69.34. Gold closed up $8.10 to $580.50 an ounce.

Volume was light today with 1.50 billion shares trading on the NYSE and 1.62 billion on the Nasdaq. Decliners topped advancers by a margin on 18:14 on the NYSE and 17:13 on the Nasdaq.

In individual stories, CFC Int'l (Nasdaq: CFCI) ended 45.2% higher after the company entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by an affiliate of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE: ITW) for $16.75 cash per share. Actuant (NYSE: ATU) fell 17.95% after reporting Q3 EPS of $0.78 (excluding items), in-line with estimates. Revenues were $316.7 million vs. $310.93 million consensus. ATU sees 2007 EPS between $3.15-3.35 per diluted share vs. $3.45 consensus. Bear Stearns also downgraded the stock from Outperform to Peer Perform.

Tomorrow, traders will be looking for economic data on Oil Inventories at 10:30AM EST. Traders will also be looking for earnings reports from FedEx (NYSE: FDX) and Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS).

You May Also Be Interested In





Related Categories

General News, Special Reports