US stocks end with moderate losses

Telecommunications was the worst performing sector

US stocks closed with moderate losses on Monday, 26 August 2013. Equities ended on their lows as the S&P 500 shed 0.4% while the Nasdaq settled flat. The major averages held modest gains into the final hour of the session when comments from Secretary of State John Kerry regarding the situation in Syria contributed to broad-based selling.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished at 14,946.46, down 64.05 points, or 0.4%. The S&P 500 index shed 6.72 points, or 0.4%, to 1,656.78. The Nasdaq Composite was off a fraction at 3,657.57.

Telecommunications was the worst performing and health care fared best of its 10 major sectors. Nine of ten sectors ended in the red with countercyclical groups leading to the downside.

Today's economic data was limited to the July durable orders report. It was reported U.S. durable goods orders fell a much-weaker-than-expected 7.3% in July. Overall, the report was not very encouraging. New orders for primary metals and machinery were both flat while orders for computers and electronic products declined 3.6%. Furthermore, nondefense capital goods orders, excluding aircraft - a proxy for business investment fell 3.3% after a 1.3% increase in June. The kicker in terms of third quarter GDP implications is that shipments of nondefense capital goods orders, excluding aircraft, declined 1.5%.

Health care, managed to outperform its defensively-oriented peers and finish in the lead with a gain. The sector was underpinned by biotechnology after Amgen made an offer to acquire Onyx Pharmaceuticals for $125 per share, representing a 5.6% premium to Friday's closing price.

Crude-oil futures closed lower on Monday, 26 August 2013 at Nymex with U.S. durable-goods orders offering a weak signal for energy demand. A firm dollar also pushed prices lower. Prices had topped $107 a barrel in electronic trading amid the prospect of Western military intervention in Syria. Crude oil for October delivery declined by 50 cents, or 0.5%, to settle at $105.92 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Bullion metals ended lower on Monday, 26 August 2013. Gold prices finished lower as investors digested a weaker-than-expected durable-goods report, as well as data last week that showed a record daily inflow for gold exchange-traded products.

Gold for December delivery fell $2.70, or 0.2%, to settle at $1,393.10 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. September silver tacked on 27 cents, or 1.2%, to $24.01 an ounce.

Indian ADRs ended weak on Monday. In the banking space, ICICI Bank was down 2.42% at $27.01 and HDFC Bank shed 2.2% at $29.44. In the IT space, Infosys fell 0.13% at $47.55 and Wipro gained 0.44% at $9.17. In the other sectors, Sterlite Industries was up 0.55% at $5.44 and Tata Motors fell 3.01% at $22.90.

Tomorrow, the June Case-Shiller 20-city Index will be reported at 9:00 ET and August Consumer Confidence will be released at 10:00 ET.

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