October 15, 2013: U.S. markets opened lower Tuesday morning and all managed to poke their noses above the break-even line before sliding back into negative territory where they closed out the day. A report from Gallup on slumping economic confidence coupled with the failure to end the government shutdown or to find a way to raise the debt limit sent stocks on a dive late in the day. Neither gold nor oil fared any better than stocks. And the 10-year Treasury note took a nasty hit as well.

European and Asian markets closed higher today while Latin American markets were mixed.

Wednesday’s calendar includes a speech by Dallas Fed President Richard Fisher and the following scheduled data releases and events (all times Eastern).

• 7:00 a.m. – Mortgage Bankers Association purchase applications
• 8:30 a.m. – Consumer price index (delayed due to government shutdown)
• 9:00 a.m. – Treasury International Capital (TIC) data
• 10:00 a.m. National Association of Home Builders housing market index
• 11:30 a.m. – 4- and 52-week bill auctions
• 2:00 p.m. – Beige Book

The weekly petroleum status report has been rescheduled for Thursday due to last Monday’s holiday, but will not be released then either. The U.S. Energy Information Administration announced last Friday that it would be closed due to a lack of appropriations. That’s agency code for the federal government shutdown.

Here are the closing bell levels for Tuesday:

• S&P500 1,698.06 (-12.08; -0.71%)
• DJIA 15,168.01 (-133.25; -0.87%)
• NASDAQ 3794.01 (-21.26; -0.56%)
• 10YR TNOTE 2.734% (-0.34375)
• Gold $1,273.20 (-3.40; -0.3%)
• WTI Crude oil $101.21 (-1.20; -1.2%)
• Euro/Dollar: 1.3518 (-0.0043; -0.31%)

Big Earnings Movers: Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C) is down 1.5% at $48.87 after weak earnings. Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) is up 0.1% at $89.92 as growth slows. The Coca-Cola Co. (NYSE: KO) is down 0.7% at $37.66 on following an uninspiring third quarter report.

Stocks on the Move: J.C. Penney Co. Inc. (NYSE: JCP) is down 9% at $7.16 after posting a new 30-year low today. Molycorp Inc. (NYSE: MCP) is down 21.5% at $5.58 after announcing a secondary stock offering. Teradata Corp. (NYSE: TDC) is down 18.4% at $42.92 on disappointing guidance.

In all, 155 NYSE stocks put up new 52-week highs today, while only 42 stocks posted new lows.

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