Friday Closing Bell: Markets in Selling Mood on Syria, Low Pre-holiday Volume

August 30, 2013: U.S. markets opened slightly higher on Friday morning but soured almost immediately. Data on personal income and personal spending was mixed and the Chicago Fed PMI reading came out as expected. The consumer sentiment index pulled off last month’s six-year high and it was this the clinched the deal for a sell-off all around.

European markets closed lower today, while Asian and Latin American markets closed mixed.

Just a reminder that U.S. markets are closed Monday for the Labor Day holiday.

Tuesday’s calendar includes the following data releases and events (all times Eastern):

• 8:58 a.m. – PMI manufacturing index
• 10:00 a.m. – ISM manufacturing index
• 10:00 a.m. – Construction spending
• 11:30 a.m. – 3- and 6-month bill auctions

Here are the closing bell levels for Friday:

• S&P500 1,632.95 (-5.22; -0.32%)
• DJIA 14,810.31 (-30.64; -0.21%)
• NASDAQ 3,589.87 (-30.43; -0.84%)
• 10YR TNOTE 2.779% (-0.125%)
• Gold $1,396.10 (-16.80; -1.2%)
• Euro/Dollar: 1.3218 (-0.0023; -0.17%)

Big earnings movers: Salesforce.com Inc. (NYSE: CRM) is up 12.5% at $49.11 and posted a new 52-week high of $49.94 today. Krispy Kreme Doughnuts Inc. (NYSE: KKD) is down $15 at $19.74. Splunk Inc. (NASDAQ: SPLK) is up 12.8% at $55.18 after posting a new 52-week high of $55.83 earlier today. Big Lots Inc. (NYSE: BIG) is up 2.3% at $35.42. ReneSola Ltd. (NYSE: SOL) is up 8% at $4.75.

Stocks on the move: Apache Corp. (NYSE: APA) is up 8.9% at $85.66 after a $3.1 billion asset sale to Sinopec. OmniVision Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: OVTI) is down 16.1% at $15.45 after warning on earnings due to lower sales of smartphones. E-Commerce China Dangdang Inc. (NYSE: DANG) is down 10.1% at $7.80 on a downgrade from JPMorgan.

In all, 18 stocks put up new 52-week highs today, while 39 stocks posted new lows.