Monday Closing Bell: Markets Start Higher, Selling Begins Later

November 18, 2013: U.S. equity markets opened higher Monday morning with the DJIA briefly topping 16,000 and the S&P 500 rising above 1,800. By mid-afternoon, though, equity prices fell as investors await some big earnings reports after markets close today and before they open again on Tuesday. Could be some profit-taking was in order.

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

Tuesday’s calendar includes speeches by Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke and Chicago Fed President Charles Evans and the following scheduled data releases and events (all times Eastern):

• 8:30 a.m. – Employment cost index
• 11:30 a.m. – 4-week bill auction

Here are the closing bell levels for Monday:

• S&P500 1791.53 (-6.65; -0.37%)
• DJIA 15975.95 (+14.25; +0.09%)
• NASDAQ 3949.07 (-36.90; -0.93%)
• 10YR TNOTE 2.666% (+0.34375)
• Gold $1,272.30 (-15.10; -1.2%)
• WTI Crude oil $93.03 (-0.81; +0.9%)
• Euro/Dollar: 1.3506 (+0.0010; +0.07%)

Big Earnings Movers: JinkoSolar Holding Co. Ltd. (NASDAQ: JKS) is up 12.9% at $33.29 after reporting better-than-expected earnings and a strong forecast. Tyson Foods Inc. (NYSE: TSN) is up 2.2% at $29.41 on good results. InterCloud Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: ICLD) is up 48.5% at $14.05 following last Friday’s even bigger run-up in the shares.

Stocks on the Move: Tesla Motors Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) is down 10.3% at $121.54 as investors weigh whether or not the stock is overvalued. Voxeljet AG (NYSE: VJET) is up 16.4% at $68.66 following raised price targets at two competing 3D printer makers.

In all, 277 NYSE stocks put up new 52-week highs today, while 14 stocks posted new lows.