Courtesy of John Nyaradi.

Index ETFs finished mixed to flat today as Investors anticipate Cypriot Banks re-opening tomorrow

Index ETFs finished flat to mixed today, despite an early morning downturn in trading.  The SPDR S&P 500 ETF (NYSEARCA:SPY) lost .09%, the SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF (NYSEARCA:DIA) lost .22%, the NASDAQ ETF (NASDAQ:QQQ) gained .13%, and the iShares Russell 2000 Index ETF (NYSEARCA:IWM) added .07%.

Index ETFs likely finished mixed and flat today because investors’ are anticipating the re-opening of Cypriot banks tomorrow, of which many predict will trigger bank runs.  Although Cyprus has implemented capital controls on the banks which may prevent bank runs tomorrow, many people across the EU are worried about the notion that other countries may implement the “deposit levy” to relieve future debt crises.  With the Cyprus debt crises solution now the “model” for the rest of the EU, many fear that people will start withdrawing large amounts of money from the system, which could be catastrophic if too much is withdrawn at one time.  At any rate, the Cyprus crisis has resolved for now, although its resolution brought with it a whole slew of bad new questions, all of which investors are not satisfied with.

In the economic report realm, today’s lackluster Pending Homesales Report likely did not help our flat markets go up any higher.  According to the National Association of Realtors, pending home sale prices declined by .4% for the month of February.  Pending Home Sales Index Dips in February.

Yesterday’s economic reports had a stellar performance, however, likely contributing to  yesterday’s stock market gains.  Read Housing Market Signals More Economic Progress Ahead.

Bottom Line: Keep in mind that all of this nonsense in Cyprus and today’s lackluster economic reports have kept the S&P 500 from just barely etching out an all new, all time high record.  It appears that investors are confused, at the very least, about how all of this will resolve, especially since the Cyprus crisis did not turn into a global meltdown.  The real question is, what event will trigger a collapse, because this EU dilemma is far from fixed.

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