It was an extremely low-volatility day in the markets.
First, the scoreboard:
- Dow: 16,504.3 (+25.9, +0.1%)
- S&P 500: 1,841.0 (-0.3, -0.0%)
- Nasdaq: 4,154.2 (-2.4, -0.0%)
And now the top stories:
- Stocks traded in a a pretty tight range. Still, it's worth remembering that the Dow and S&P 500 remain near all-time highs. In fact, the year-end rally has been so strong that Wall Steet's strategists are rethinking their 2014 forecasts. In a new note to clients, Citi's Tobias Levkovich said his mid-2014 targets were basically pulled forward into 2013. "The good news from credit conditions, hiring intentions and capital spending plans on the economy and likely earnings growth can provide upside appreciation potential while sentiment, intra-stock correlation and even valuation suggest concern," added Levkovich. "Overall, we can get to a 1,975 kind of outcome, but we may also see choppier markets and early indicators on volatility also intimate reasons to be worried." Previously, Levkovich estimated that the S&P 500 would only go to 1,900.
- Pending home sales climbed by just 0.2% month-over-month in November, missing economists' expectation for a 1.0% gain. "Although the final months of 2013 are finishing on a soft note, the year as a whole will end with the best sales total in seven years," said Lawrence Yun of the National Association of Realtors.
- The Dallas Federal Reserve's manufacturing survey index rose to 3.1 in December, which was lower than the 4.0 level expected by economists. From the report:"The production index, a key measure of state manufacturing conditions, fell from 16.9 to 7.1, indicating output grew at a slower pace than in November. Other measures of current manufacturing activity reflected slower or no growth. The new orders index came in near zero, suggesting demand was largely unchanged from November after seven months of increases. The shipments index also fell to around zero, coming in at 0.7, after rising to 14.8 last month. The capacity utilization index declined 8 points to 8.6."
- Shares of Crocs spiked after private equity giant Blackstone said it was making a $200 million investment in the company. The proceeds will finance a $350 million stock repurchase program that will reduce the publicly traded shares by 30%.
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