{"id":43899,"date":"2013-04-24T16:51:00","date_gmt":"2013-04-24T16:51:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www2.thestockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/stocks-struggle-for-direction-4\/43898\/"},"modified":"2013-04-24T16:51:00","modified_gmt":"2013-04-24T16:51:00","slug":"stocks-struggle-for-direction-4","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/stocks-struggle-for-direction-4\/43899\/","title":{"rendered":"Stocks Struggle for Direction"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script type=\"text\/javascript\"><!--\ngoogle_ad_client = \"ca-pub-1408583772585547\";\n\/* SMW - News Links *\/\ngoogle_ad_slot = \"3490797620\";\ngoogle_ad_width = 468;\ngoogle_ad_height = 15;\n\/\/-->\n<\/script><br \/>\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\" src=\"http:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/show_ads.js\">\n<\/script><\/p>\n<p>Stocks struggled for direction in trading on Wednesday, with the <a href=\"https:\/\/stockmarketwatch.com\/markets\/sp500\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"3\" title=\"snp500 today\">S&amp;P 500<\/a> and the Nasdaq finishing the day flat. The <a href=\"https:\/\/thestockmarketwatch.com\/markets\/dowjones\/today.aspx\">Dow Jones<\/a>, meanwhile, ended the day marginally lower, ending a three-day rally. Stocks struggled as investors weighed some solid corporate earnings reports against disappointing durable goods orders data for the month of March.<\/p>\n<p><span id=\"more-43899\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/thestockmarketwatch.com\/markets\/dowjones\/today.aspx\">Dow Jones<\/a> ended the day 0.29% lower at 14,676.30, the S&amp;P 500 ended the day flat at 1,578.79, and the Nasdaq ended the day 0.01% higher at 3,269.65.<\/p>\n<p>Basic Materials sector was the best performer in the S&amp;P 500, ending the day 2.25% higher. Energy sector also rose sharply, ending the day 1.28% higher. Consumer Non-Cyclical sector was the worst performer in the S&amp;P 500, ending the day 2.08% lower. Healthcare sector also fell sharply, ending the day 1.40% lower.<\/p>\n<p>Among the major movers on Wednesday were Microsoft Corporation (<a href=\"https:\/\/thestockmarketwatch.com\/stock.aspx?stock=MSFT\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">NASDAQ: MSFT<\/a>), which ended the day 3.79% higher at $31.76, Apple Inc. (<a href=\"https:\/\/thestockmarketwatch.com\/stock.aspx?stock=AAPL\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">NASDAQ: AAPL<\/a>), which ended the day 0.16% lower at $405.46, and The Procter &amp; Gamble Company (<a href=\"https:\/\/thestockmarketwatch.com\/stock.aspx?stock=PG\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">NYSE: PG<\/a>), which ended the day 5.88% lower at $77.12.<\/p>\n<p>On the economic front, a report from the Commerce Department showed that durable goods orders fell 5.7% in March, the biggest drop in seven months. Economists were expecting durable goods orders to slip 2.8%.<\/p>\n<p>European markets ended mostly higher on Wednesday, with the FTSE 100 Index in London closing 0.40% higher, and the CAC 40 Index in Paris closing 1.58% higher. Asian markets ended mostly higher overnight, with the Nikkei 225 Index in Japan closing 2.32% higher, and the Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong closing 1.73% higher.<\/p>\n<div class=\"nr_clear\"><\/div>\n<div id=\"nrelate_popular_2\" class=\"nrelate nrelate_popular nrelate_default nr_1col nr_text\"><\/div>\n<p>\t<!--[if IE 6]>\n\t\t<script type=\"text\/javascript\">jQuery('.nrelate_default').removeClass('nrelate_default');<\/script>\n\t<![endif]--><\/p>\n<p>\t<script type=\"text\/javascript\">\n\t\/* <![CDATA[ *\/\n\t\tnRelate.domain = \"www2.thestockmarketwatch.com%2Fstock-market-news\";\n\t\tvar entity_decoded_nr_mp_url = jQuery('<span\/>').html(\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20130426121954\/http:\/\/api.nrelate.com\/mpw_wp\/0.51.4\/?tag=nrelate_popular&domain=www2.thestockmarketwatch.com%2Fstock-market-news&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww2.thestockmarketwatch.com%2Fstock-market-news%2Fstocks-struggle-for-direction-15%2F43899&nr_div_number=2&maxageposts=7200&increment=1\").text();\n\t\tnRelate.getNrelatePosts(entity_decoded_nr_mp_url);\n\t\/* ]]&gt; *\/\n\t<\/script>\n\n\n<div class=\"nr_clear\"><\/div>\n\n\n<script id=\"mNCC\" language=\"javascript\">  medianet_width='600';  medianet_height= '250';  medianet_crid='814932888';  <\/script>  <script id=\"mNSC\" src=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20130426121954js_\/http:\/\/contextual.media.net\/nmedianet.js?cid=8CUT71M67\" language=\"javascript\"><\/script> \n\n\n\n\n<!-- AddThis Button BEGIN -->\n\n\n<div class=\"addthis_toolbox addthis_default_style addthis_32x32_style\">\n<a class=\"addthis_button_preferred_1\"><\/a>\n<a class=\"addthis_button_preferred_2\"><\/a>\n<a class=\"addthis_button_preferred_3\"><\/a>\n<a class=\"addthis_button_preferred_4\"><\/a>\n<a class=\"addthis_button_compact\"><\/a>\n<a class=\"addthis_counter addthis_bubble_style\"><\/a>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\">var addthis_config = {\"data_track_addressbar\":true};<\/script>\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\" src=\"http:\/\/s7.addthis.com\/js\/250\/addthis_widget.js#pubid=pennystocksfinder\"><\/script>\n<!-- AddThis Button END -->\n\n\n\n\n<p>More Posts by this author<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www2.thestockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/gold-prices-advance-silver-prices-flat\/43954\">\nGold Prices Advance, Silver Prices Flat<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www2.thestockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/stock-futures-point-to-lower-start\/43951\">\nStock Futures Point to Lower Start<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www2.thestockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/starbucks-corp-s-q2-earnings-match-estimates-q3-earnings-guidance-disappoints-sbux\/43945\">\nStarbucks Corp.\u2019s Q2 Earnings Match Estimates, Q3 Earnings Guidance Disappoints (SBUX)<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www2.thestockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/amazon-com-inc-s-q2-revenue-guidance-disappoints-investors-amzn\/43943\">\nAmazon.com Inc.\u2019s Q2 Revenue Guidance Disappoints Investors (AMZN)<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www2.thestockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/stocks-end-higher-15\/43939\">\nStocks End Higher<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www2.thestockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/gold-and-silver-prices-rise-sharply-2\/43937\">\nGold and Silver Prices Rise Sharply<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www2.thestockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/stocks-in-green-in-mid-day-trading-24\/43936\">\nStocks in Green in Mid-Day Trading<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<hr>\n\n\n\n\n\n<table style=\"border:none;margin:0;\">\n\n\n<tr>\n\n\n<td style=\"padding:5px;vertical-align:top;\" valign=\"top\">\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20130426121954im_\/http:\/\/www2.thestockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/userphoto\/5.jpg\" alt=\"edliston\" width=\"125\" height=\"125\" class=\"photo\"><\/td>\n\n\n\n\n<td style=\"padding:5px;vertical-align:top;\" valign=\"top\">\n\n\n<div style=\"font-size:11pt;\"><b>Post Written By: Ed Liston <\/b><\/div>\n\n\n\n\n<div style=\"font-size:10pt;\">\n\nEd Liston is a senior contributing editor at TheStockMarketWatch.com. An active market watcher and investor, Ed guides an independent team of experienced analysts and writes for multiple stock trader publications. He is widely quoted in various financial publications on the Internet. When Ed is not writing about stocks, investing in stocks, talking about stocks, or otherwise doing something stock related, he likes to go sailing and fishing in his yacht.\n<\/div>\n\n\n<\/td>\n\n<\/tr>\n\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<!--script type=\"text\/javascript\">\ngoogle_ad_client = \"pub-1408583772585547\";\n\/* 336x280, created 7\/9\/11 *\/\ngoogle_ad_slot = \"3552319058\";\ngoogle_ad_width = 336;\ngoogle_ad_height = 280;\n\n<\/script>\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\"\nsrc=\"http:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/show_ads.js\">\n<\/script-->\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\n\t\n\n<div style=\"margin:5px;margin-bottom:20px;font-size:11pt;\">&laquo; <a href=\"https:\/\/thestockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/\">Return to Stock Market News<\/a> &laquo; <\/div>\n\n\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Stocks struggled for direction in trading on Wednesday, with the S&amp;P 500 and the Nasdaq finishing the day flat. The [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":50312,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"rank_math_schema_Article":[],"rank_math_focus_keyword":[],"rank_math_description":[],"financial_data_references":[],"stock_symbols_mentioned":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[3439],"tags":[33,225,1523],"class_list":["post-43899","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-forex","tag-msft","tag-aapl","tag-atpg"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43899","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=43899"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43899\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/50312"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43899"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=43899"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=43899"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}