Why the Dow's Barely Moving Today
The stock market isn't moving much today, as the good news of stronger consumer confidence ran into bad news from Sears Holdings (NAS: SHLD) -- the retailer said it would close more than 100 Sears and Kmart stores. At 2 p.m., the Dow (INDEX: ^DJI) was up 28 points to 12,322, and the S&P 500 (INDEX: ^GSPC) rose 3 points to 1,269.
Tech stocks put in a strong performance, with both Intel (NAS: INTC) and Cisco (NAS: CSCO) weighing in with up-moves. Intel looks like the more attractive option to value investors, with a lower earnings multiple and much higher dividend yield. But Cisco, long a growth favorite, also pays a dividend now, and it has done a good job bouncing back from its summer slump.
Most other Dow stocks didn't make big moves in either direction. Oil moved above $101 per barrel, but the impact it had on the Dow was mixed, as Chevron rose not quite half a percent while ExxonMobil gave back some ground with fractional losses. McDonald's (NYS: MCD) also saw decent gains, rising to another all-time high above $100 per share as investors once again were attracted to the strength of its fast growth and healthy dividends.
On the downside, Bank of America (NYS: BAC) had a bad day, falling more than 1% and giving back some of its gains from last week. Alcoa (NYS: AA) also lost ground as continuing concerns about China dampened demand for commodity and infrastructure plays.
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At the time thisarticle was published Fool contributor Dan Caplinger doesn't own shares of the companies mentioned. You can follow him on Twitter here. The Motley Fool owns shares of Cisco, Bank of America, and Intel; has created a bull call spread position on Cisco; and has bought calls on Intel. Motley Fool newsletter services have recommended buying shares of Cisco, McDonald's, Intel, and Chevron, as well as creating a bull call spread position in Intel. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Fool has a disclosure policy.
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