Stocks took a late-afternoon dip after the Federal Reserve dropped its GDP outlook and said the recession may last longer than expected, with worse unemployment than previous estimates. Oil prices closed above $60 for the first time since November on a decline in inventories and a weak dollar. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 52 points at 8422. For a complete rundown of Wednesday’s trading session see our market story.
The Energy Department announced Wednesday crude inventories fell last week by 2.1 million barrels. That and a falling dollar caused oil to jump to over $60 a barrel and pushed the United States Oil fund (USO) up 3.3%. Energy prices also helped the Market Vectors Russia fund (RSX) gain 4.3%.
Profit taking and worsening expectations for the economy once again hit the SPDR KBW Regional Banking ETF (KRE), which shed 4.5%. Shares of Regional Bank HOLDRS (RKH) lost 3.1%. The SPDR Utilities Select Sector fund (XLU) dipped 1.8% over concerns about a proposed acquisition by major holding Exelon (EXC).
Earnings and Conference Calls
Accelrys, Aeropostale, Autodesk, Barnes and Noble, Bon-Ton Stores, Cost Plus, Dress Barn, Excel Maritime Carriers, Foot Locker, Gamestop, Gap, Hormel Foods, Investec, Kirkland's, Lenovo Group, New York & Co., Pacific Sunwear of California, Red Robin Gourmet Burgers, Ross Stores, Salesforce.com, Stein Mart, Zumiez
Economic Data
8:30 a.m. Initial Jobless Claims
10:00 a.m. May Philadelphia Fed Business Index
10:00 a.m. April Conference Board Leading Indicators
10:00 a.m. DJ-BTMU Business Barometer
10:30 a.m. May 15 EIA Natural Gas Inventories
A look at how the industry's most popular ETFs did on Wednesday:
| Symbol | Net Assets | Price | 52 Week High | 52 Week Low | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SPY | 60,678 | 90.51 | 141.53 | 68.13 | 284,076,281 |
| EFA | 27,281 | 46.13 | 77.86 | 32.16 | 18,732,949 |
| EEM | 25,768 | 32.21 | 50.97 | 19.12 | 77,041,330 |
| GLD | 31,354 | 92.25 | 97.24 | 70.14 | 18,244,046 |
| IVV | 16,380 | 90.76 | 141.76 | 68.24 | 5,730,961 |
| QQQQ | 13,388 | 34.28 | 50.58 | 25.51 | 128,703,344 |
| IWF | 9,153 | 39.76 | 60.06 | 30.49 | 4,421,033 |
| SHY | 7,391 | 84.03 | 85 | 82.11 | 1,122,054 |
| VTI | 9,440 | 45.42 | 70.62 | 33.75 | 2,455,483 |
| IWD | 6,740 | 47.14 | 77.76 | 34.22 | 3,131,404 |