3 Stocks Putting the Brakes on the Market

Today has been a wild ride for the Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEX: ^DJI) . After opening, it soon fell to a loss and then quickly bounced back -- but not all of the 30 components are in the green this afternoon. The Dow currently sits at 13,068 -- up 32 points, or 0.25% -- while United Technologies (NYS: UTX) , American Express (NYS: AXP) , and Kraft Foods (NAS: KFT) are all down for the day.

After leading aerospace companies lower yesterday, conglomerate United Technologies is down again -- by 0.5% today. United has traded lower on four of the past five days. Year to date, United Technologies is up 6.59%, while the Dow is doing just slightly better at 6.87%. On the other hand, United's competitor HoneywellInternational is only up 5.74% for the year.

Credit card companies are all trading lower today, led by American Express, which is down 2%. The card companies may have more competition to worry about than just each other. With the iPhone 5's Sept. 12 press date imminent, plastic may soon become a thing of the past. Apple's Passbook and potential near-field communication payment systems may cut into credit card companies' profits.

Finally, Kraft Food is trading a shade lower today, down 0.1% after competitor Campbell Soup (NYS: CPB) announced earnings yesterday. Even though the soup company beat expectations, gross margins fell, and the company expects costs to rise 4% this year. The higher input cost will ultimately affect the whole food industry. Each company will be forced to make a decision on whether to eat the cost or push it off on struggling U.S. consumers.

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The article 3 Stocks Putting the Brakes on the Market originally appeared on Fool.com.

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