Market Close 30 July 2013
With Gary off for the day, the market close summary comes from syndication partner Investing.com:
U.S. stocks closed mixed to higher on Tuesday in quiet trading as many investors remained on the sidelines ahead of the Federal Reserve’s Wednesday announcement on interest rates and monetary policy.
At the close of U.S. trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average finished down 0.01%, the S&P 500 index rose 0.04%, while the Nasdaq Composite index rose 0.48%.
Trading was rather quiet, as many investors were eager for fresh indications as to when stimulus tools such as the Fed’s monthly USD85 billion bond-buying program will taper and eventually end.
Asset purchases depress borrowing costs across the economy and make equities rise as a side effect, and talk of an end to stimulus can send stocks falling on fears recent gains in the past few years won’t sustain themselves without Fed support.
On the flip side, a decision to dismantle stimulus programs would signal the Fed feels the economy can stand on its own, which in turn, would push up stocks prices down the road. Mixed data kept many investors in a wait-and-see mode.
The following snapshots of markets was taken at 5 pm New York time.
Click on any table for live streaming version at Investing.com.