GOLD HITS 5-YEAR LOW: Here's what you need to know

Stocks closed in the red on Wednesday amid lower-than-usual trading volumes, and gold dropped to a five-year low as the bond market wasn't open for Veterans Day.

The energy sector led declines on the S&P 500 amid a drop in oil prices.

First, the scoreboard:

• Dow: 17,702.22, -55.99, (-0.32%)
• S&P 500: 2,075.00, -6.72, (-0.32%)
• NASDAQ: 5,067.02, -16.22, (-0.32%)?

And now, the top stories:

1. Gold plunged to a five-year low. Gold futures for December delivery closed at $1,084.90 an ounce, down about 0.3% and at the lowest level since early 2010. Gold got crushed on Friday after the stellar jobs report that raised the market's confidence that the Fed could raise interest rates next month.
2. Crude oil fell to the lowest level in nearly three months. West Texas Intermediate crude futures in New York dropped by as much as 3% to around $42.63 per barrel. Data due from the Energy Information Administration on Thursday are expected to show that US oil inventories rose for a seventh straight week, according to a Reuters poll. Already, the American Petroleum Institute said on Tuesday that inventories rose by 6.3 million barrels last week. This all adds to concerns about oversupply.
3. As this year runs out, the 2016 market outlooks have started rolling in. UBS's Julian Emanuel published the firm's forecasts on Tuesday. Its year-end target for the S&P 500 is 2,275, but it's unlikely that we'll see a drop to 1,750 that would end the bull market in stocks, according to Emanuel. He wrote that, whether up or down, it's likely to be a wild ride for the stock market with lots of volatility, as rising risk is now normal. Emanuel forecast an increase in S&P 500 earnings per share from an estimated $120 this year to $126 next year, up 5% and driven by stronger GDP growth and consumer spending.
4. Macy's shares plunged by as much as 14% after the department-store chain said that its sales growth was weak because of muted consumer demand. Sales fell 5% to $5.87 billion, below the expectation for $6.1 billion. Macy's also lowered its guidance for 2015 earnings per share, to a range of $4.20 to $4.30 from $4.70 to $4.80. Shares are down 39% year-to-date.
5. Nomura lowered its price target on Valeant Pharmaceuticals to $175 from $220. That's significant because the firm had been one of the most bullish on the company. "Valeant's business update call did not address all our outstanding questions; however, management's willingness to be as open as possible in its responses was a positive first step towards rebuilding credibility with investors," wrote analyst Shibani Malhotra.

SEE ALSO: Goldman Sachs has a scary warning for the bond market.