“The seemingly unstoppable market rally of 2013 kicked off the new year Thursday with what many hope is just a temporary pause,” Kim Hjelmgaard reports for USA Today. “All three major stock market measures finished their first days of trading down nearly 1%, as investors who wanted to lock in gains from 2013’s remarkable rally took their first opportunity in a new tax year. Few investors, though, read too much into this early sign from the market so early.”
“The Dow Jones industrial average sank 135.31 points on its first day to 16,441.35, and investors have enjoyed what’s practically been a non-stop rally in stocks in all of 2013,” Hjelmgaard reports. “In fact, at no point in 2013 did the Dow, Standard & Poor’s 500 or Nasdaq close with a year-to-date loss.”
“The Standard & Poor’s 500 index dropped 16.38 points, or 0.9%, to close on Thursday at 1,831.98. The Nasdaq composite index slipped 33.52 points, or 0.8% to 4,143.07,” Hjelmgaard reports. “Investors are especially touchy about how stocks do in January since many feel it can be telling about the rest of the year… The first day of trading started off on a bad note after Wells Fargo downgraded its rating on electronic gadget maker Apple. That pushed Apple shares down 1.4% and weighed on the entire tech sector.”
Read more in the full article here.