July 17th 2014 – Stocks End Sharply Lower

Market View:

A dark day for humanity.  Possibly a mistaken rocket launched against a commercial airline, with hundreds losing their lives and devastating families.  Then later in the day news of Israel sending in ground troups to gazza caused the already fragile market to nose dive some more.  Nothing more to say really, thoughts are with the families of those affected with this great tragedy as well as a hope for a cease fire in Gazza and the Ukraine.

Market News:

U.S. stocks tumbled on Thursday, with the Dow falling back below 17,000, as investors fled equities and other risky assets after the crash of a passenger plane in Ukraine and as Israel launched a ground offensive in Gaza.

The crash of a Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 with 295 people aboard near the Russian border followed new U.S. and European Union sanctions on Russia.

In Israel, Prime Minster Benjamin Netanyahu said he had instructed the nation’s military to begin a ground offensive in Gaza.

After wavering near unchanged, stock indexes turned decisively lower after the reports involving Malaysia Airlines Flight 17. The price of gold and crude surged and Treasury yields fell.

Mayalysia Airlines said it had lost contact with the MH17, while the Associated Press quoted a Ukraine government minister as saying a plane had been shot down.

Microsoft shares rose after the software giant said it would cut 18,000 jobs in the next year. Morgan Stanley turned lower after the brokerage reported quarterly results, and UnitedHealth Group gained after its earnings beat estimates.

Equities began the session in the red after the United States and European Union imposed sanctions on Russian banks, energy companies and defense companies in another try at getting Russia to stop its backing of Ukrainian rebels.

Economic reports offered differing messages on the housing and labor markets, with housing starts unexpectedly falling in June, applications for jobless benefits declining last week and a gauge of manufacturing activity in the Philadelphia region expanding in July.

Overseas markets: Russian sanctions and worries about the crash are fueling a sell-off in European stocks. The FTSE 100 closed about 0.7% lower, and the German Dax was off more than 1%. The Russian RTS index finished just under 4% lower.

Asian stocks ended the day mixed, though Taiwanese stocks fell more than 0.8%.

Friday

Earnings: General Electric, Honeywell, Kansas City Southern, Bank of NY Mellon, Ericsson, VF Corp, Interpublic

9:55 a.m.: Consumer sentiment

10:00 a.m.: Leading indicators

News Sources:  CNBC and CNN Money