Wednesday Closing Bell: Markets Sink on FOMC Minutes

November 20, 2013: U.S. equity markets opened higher Wednesday morning and held onto modest gains until the mid-afternoon release of the FOMC minutes. Suggestions that the Fed may begin tapering before it sees an “unambiguous” boost in the economic outlook sent equities investors and gold buyers headed for the exits.

European, Asian, and Latin American markets all closed mixed today.

Thursday’s calendar includes speeches by St. Louis Fed President James Bullard, Fed Governor Jerome Powell, and Richmond Fed President Jeffrey Lacker and the following scheduled data releases and events (all times Eastern):

• 8:30 a.m. – New claims for unemployment benefits
• 8:30 a.m. – Producer price index
• 8:58 a.m. – Flash manufacturing PMI
• 10:00 a.m. – Philadelphia Fed survey
• 10:30 a.m. – EIA weekly natural gas storage report
• 1:00 p.m. – 10-year Treasury inflation protected securities (TIPS) auction
• 4:30 p.m. – Fed balance sheet and money supply

Here are the closing bell levels for Wednesday:

• S&P500 1781.37 (-6.50; -0.36%)
• DJIA 15900.82 (-66.21; -0.41%)
• NASDAQ 3921.27 (-10.28; -0.26%)
• 10YR TNOTE 2.792% (-0.6875)
• Gold $1,258.00 (-15.50; -1.1%)
• WTI Crude oil $93.33 (-0.01; flat)
• Euro/Dollar: 1.3433 (-0.0105; -0.78%)

Big Earnings Movers: J.C. Penney Co. Inc. (NYSE: JCP) is up 8.4% at $9.44 after a lousy report but some hopeful remarks. Lowe’s Companies Inc. (NYSE: LOW) is down 6.2% at $47.34 after disappointing results and a weakish outlook. Staples Inc. (NASDAQ: SPLS) is down 1.6% at $15.10. Deere & Co. (NYSE: DE) is up 2.1% at $84.53 even though the outlook is a bit weak.

Stocks on the Move: Voxeljet AG (NYSE: VJET) is down 32.5% at $39.15 on both a momentum move and a scathing report from a short-seller. Unilife Corp. (NASDAQ: UNIS) is up 43.9% at $4.03 after signing a long-term contract for its syringes.

In all, 74 NYSE stocks put up new 52-week highs today, while 47 stocks posted new lows.