Courtesy of Benzinga.
Following the market opening Monday, the Dow traded down 0.35 percent to 13,944.18 while the NASDAQ fell 0.33 percent to 3,183.18. The S&P also fell, decreasing 0.25 percent to 1,514.25.
Index Technicals:
The Dow looks to be forming a price channel today between 14,022.62-13,855.2, while the NASDAQ looks to be re-testing its September highs at 3,197, with near term support set around 3,125.
The S&P looks to be set up for a breakout above 1,515, with its lower bound set at 1,497. As a reference point, its 2007 highs were set at 1,576, which may form a key level.
Top Headline
Make headlines around the world today was the retirement of Pope Benedict XVI, the first time a pope has retired in over 6 centuries. While not specifically market related, it has been covered closely in financial media, with some tongue and cheek humor suggesting that he is leaving for the private sector.
Equities Trading UP
AOL (NYSE: AOL) traded up 6.32 percent to $35.85 this morning after the company received an upgrade and a price target increase on the heels of its positive earnings report Friday.
Shares of The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ: WEN) were also up, gaining 3.19 percent to $5.18 after the company posted a strong earnings report Monday morning.
Moody’s (NYSE: MCO) was also up, gaining 3.50 percent to $44.89 following positive sentiment around the government probe of S&P’s ratings operation.
Equities Trading DOWN
Heckman (NYSE: HEK) took a hit in early trading, falling 8.28 percent to $3.99 following a downgrade to Underperform at Wedbush Securities this morning.
BlackBerry (NASDAQ: BBRY) was also down, declining 4.55 percent to $15.74 on reports that Home Depot (NYSE: HD) was switching from BlackBerry devices over to the iPhone.
Shares of Radian Group (NYSE: RDN) were down as well, falling 3.79 percent to $6.47 after reporting a widening loss for the fourth-quarter this morning.
Commodities
In commodity news, oil traded down 0.54 percent to $95.20, while gold traded down 0.93 percent to $1,651.40.
Silver traded down 0.42 percent Monday to $31.02.
Eurozone
In the eurozone this morning, markets were mixed as traders moved on sentiment around the meeting of European leaders. The Spanish Ibex lead the downside, falling 0.31 percent, while the French CAC lead things on the upside, gaining 0.50 percent.
Economics
There were no major economic releases Monday morning.
