Wall St. ends down for day, month; indexes gain in quarter
Credit: Reuters/Brendan McDermid
Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange March 17, 2014.
* Market volatility has surged of late, with the S&P 500 posting closing moves greater than 0.5 percent in five of the past six sessions. Earlier this month, the benchmark index went 14 sessions without such a move, its longest such streak since 1995, according to MKM Partners. The CBOE Volatility index, a measure of investor anxiety, climbed by more than a third in September.
* Despite the outsized moves, the S&P has largely been range-bound between 2,011.36, its record closing level hit earlier this month, and 1,976.76, its 50-day moving average, which it has not closed under for more than one session since mid-August. The S&P is about 1.7 percent away from its record close.
* The range has come as investors use market declines as buying opportunities. The S&P has not had a correction, defined as a 10 percent decline from its peak, since 2012.
* For the month of September, the Dow is down 0.2 percent, the S&P is down 1.3 percent, and the Nasdaq is down 1.6 percent. For the third quarter, the Dow is up 1.4 percent, the S&P is up 0.9 percent, and the Nasdaq is up 2.2 percent. Both the S&P and Nasdaq are on track for their seventh straight quarterly advances.
* Investors continue to keep a close eye on the situation in Hong Kong, where thousands of pro-democracy activists protested against the Chinese government. The Hang Seng Index fell 1.3 percent, having declined in 15 of the past 18 sessions.
* While the economic impact to the tension is unknown, investors have paid close attention to the rate of growth in China. If the protests continue for an extended period, that may add to concerns about the country's prospects.
* Investors are also looking ahead to data on consumer confidence, seen essentially flat at 92.5 in September, and the Chicago purchasing managers index, which is expected to fall to 61.9 from 64.3 in August. Both reads are due at 10 a.m.
* An hour before those datapoints, the July S&P/Case-Shiller report on home prices will be released and is seen showing flat growth.
(Editing by Lisa Von Ahn)
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