Sarhan Media Quote- US Stocks Fluctuate Between Gains, Losses On Mixed Data

July 27, 2010, 10:35 a.m. EDT
By Donna Kardos
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — U.S. stocks flitted between small gains and losses Tuesday as disappointing reports on consumer confidence and regional manufacturing activity weighed against a rise in U.S. home prices and strong earnings.
Investors have been struggling in recent weeks to evaluate a market divided by encouraging earnings and discouraging economic data. Earlier in Tuesday’s session, data showing an increase in U.S. home prices for May served as a source of relief, but cold water was thrown on the market’s excitement over the report after a measure of consumer confidence fell and slightly missed expectations, while a reading of Richmond-area manufacturing also dropped.
We’ve seen a slew of high-profile companies beat expectations. But the concern, which has been the ongoing concern for the past two months, is whether or not this economic recovery will continue,” said Adam Sarhan, chief executive at Sarhan Capital.
Consumer confidence is an extremely important gauge to determine whether consumer spending will increase, stay the same or decrease,” Sarhan said. “When you have consumer confidence fall and fall short of expectations, it bodes poorly for the ongoing economic recovery.”
The Richmond manufacturing data is “also an indication that the ongoing global recovery might be in jeopardy or might slow down,” Sarhan added.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average edged up 16 points, or 0.2%, to 10542, in recent trading. The measure was led by DuPont, which jumped 4%. The chemical giant reported a second-quarter profit that almost tripled, while revenue increased more than expected on improved volume and higher selling prices.
The Dow’s financial components were also strong following encouraging earnings from European banks. Bank of America climbed 1.3%, and J.P. Morgan Chase added 1.6%.
However, keeping the gains in check, American Express dropped 1.4%, Caterpillar fell 1.1% and Intel dropped 0.9%.
The Nasdaq Composite declined less than a point to 2296. The S&P 500 eked out a gain of 0.1% to 1116, up 0.1% for the year. The financial sector led to the upside, as sentiment toward the sector improved following better-than-expected earnings from UBS and Deutsche Bank.

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