Markets Move Lower as Stimulus-Driven Rally Ends
QE3's rally couldn't last forever, and after a few days of stimulus-related rallying, the major market indexes have pulled back slightly. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEX: ^DJI) is down 0.38% near the end of trading, and the S&P 500 (INDEX: ^GSPC) has fallen 0.46%. Of the 30 Dow components, 20 are on the decline today in a broad selloff.
Stocks that rallied last week are leading the selloff today. Alcoa (NYS: AA) and Bank of America (NYS: BAC) are the two biggest decliners so far today, losing 2.5% and 2.6%, respectively. This isnât a huge surprise, and I warned over the weekend that stimulus-infused rallies could be short-lived for stocks like this.
On the flip side, defensive stocks like Pfizer (NYS: PFE) and McDonald's are about 0.6% higher as investors move back to more fundamentally strong companies.
The real mover today is oil, which has fallen 2.8% after a rally last week on rumors of a negative reserve release. The commodity's rally wasn't based on any fundamental strength in demand, and I could argue that the reasons for oil's rally didn't make sense at all. Central banks are stimulating as much as they can because the economy is weak, not the other way around -- which should be bad for oil. If the stimulus kick-starts the economy, oil should rally, but we're a long ways from seeing that happen.
There isn't a lot of news driving the markets today, so this is really a profit-taking day for traders after a two-week winning streak. The rally didn't make a lot of fundamental sense after some bad earnings news, so I wouldn't be surprised to see weakness for the rest of the week.
The article Markets Move Lower as Stimulus-Driven Rally Ends originally appeared on Fool.com.
Fool contributor Travis Hoium occasionally eats at McDonald's but does not have a position in any company mentioned. You can follow Travis on Twitter at @FlushDrawFool, check out his personal stock holdings or follow his CAPS picks at TMFFlushDraw.The Motley Fool owns shares of McDonald's and Bank of America. Motley Fool newsletter services have recommended buying shares of McDonald's. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
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