Yellen waiting for “more data”
Dow: -54.30…
Nasdaq: -11.13… S&P: -7.07…
Stocks pulled back after Friday’s rally capped their best quarter of the year. Stocks that are considered bond proxies because they tend to pay steady dividends, such as utilities, were among the biggest decliners. The utilities sector of the S&P 500 lost 1.4% after falling 6.7% in the third quarter—its biggest quarterly drop since 2009. Real-estate reits (IYR) shares fell 1.8%.
The reason for the decline in the bond proxies and an increase in the 10 year yield was because the ISM Manufacturing Index for September showed a better-than-expected number which has a tendency to boost rate hike odds. The September ISM Index rose to 51.5 after registering at 49.4 in August. Remember that good is bad for the market right now. Anything to keep rates down for longer is good from the perspective of market players.
Bottom line it was just a boring day.
See you in the morning.