June 12th 2014 – Stocks Hit By Iraq And Oil

Market View:

That is now 3 days of profit taking out of the way, but tomorrow may be sideways again as the market takes a pause in a remarkable rally from the May Low.

My opinion is that it needs to come down one more day before it rallies again.

Market News:

U.S. stocks declined Thursday, with airline and restaurant shares knocked and the S&P 500 down for a third day, as concern about violence in Iraq increased, along with the price of oil.

Crude spiked on worry of supply disruptions amid a Sunni militant uprising in Iraq that had rebels controlling two cities and the Wall Street Journal reporting that Iran was sending elite troops to help the Iraqi government fight the rebellion. President Barack Obama said he would not rule out the use of airstrikes to help Iraq’s government.

Domestically, retail sales rose less than expected in May, according to Commerce Department data, which had sales up 0.3 percent last month and the prior month revised higher to 0.5 percent.

After a 140-point drop, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 110.01 points, or 0.7 percent, to 16,733.87, with Chevron leading a handful of blue-chip gainers.

The S&P 500 declined 15.52 points, or 0.8 percent, to 1,928.37, with utilities and energy the best performing and industrials and consumer discretionary faring the worst among the benchmark’s 10 major sectors.

The Nasdaq dropped 41.28 points, or 1 percent, to 4,290.71.

Other economic reports Thursday had the number of Americans filing new claims for jobless benefits unexpectedly rising last week, although not enough to alter the view of a labor market that is picking up steam.

And, the Labor Department reported import prices rose 0.1 percent last month after declining 0.5 percent in April.

Also, the Commerce Department reported inventories rose 0.6 percent in April and picked up excluding cars, boosting expectations of increased economic growth in the second quarter.

News Sources:  CNBC and CNN Money