Monday Closing Bell: Markets Hobbled by Politics

October 7, 2013: U.S. markets opened lower Monday morning as prospects for a settlement of the government shutdown wane and a further fight over the federal debt ceiling wax. Investors could be looking for non-U.S. assets as a haven from the turmoil, but not every investment firm sees a severe drop in U.S. equities. At least U.S. drivers are seeing some relief at the gas pumps.
Asian and Latin American markets closed lower today, while European markets closed mixed.

Tuesday’s calendar includes speeches by Cleveland Fed President Sandra Pianalto and Philadelphia Fed President Charles Plosser and the following scheduled data releases and events (all times Eastern):

• 7:30 a.m. – National Federation of Independent Business optimism index
• 8:30 a.m. – International trade (not expected to be released due to government shutdown)
• 10:00 a.m. – Job openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS), also unlikely to be released
• 11:30 a.m. – 4-week bill auction
• 1:00 p.m. – 3-year note auction

Here are the closing bell levels for Monday:

• S&P500 1,676.12 (-14.38; -0.85%)
• DJIA 14,936.54 (-136.34; -0.90%)
• NASDAQ 3,770.38 (-37.38; -0.98%)
• 10YR TNOTE 2.634% (+0.125)
• Gold $1,325.10 (+15.20; +1.2%)
• WTI Crude oil $103.03 (-0.81; -0.8%)
• Euro/Dollar: 1.3578 (+0.0013; +0.10%)

There were no earnings of note on Monday. Quarterly earnings results begin in earnest tomorrow, with Alcoa Inc. (NYSE: AA) and Yum! Brands Inc. (NYSE: YUM).

Stocks on the Move: National Bank of Greece (NYSE: NBG) is up 16.2% at $5.34 on little substantive data. BlackBerry Ltd. (NASDAQ: BBRY) is up 3.6% at $7.97 on talk of more interest from potential acquirers. DryShips Inc. (NASDAQ: DRYS) is down 5.6% at $3.57 on word of another stock offering.

In all, 50 stocks put up new 52-week highs today, while 37 stocks posted new lows.