Lack of Confidence Drags Down the Dow

It's been an incredible run, but it looks like the Dow Jones Industrial Average's 10-day winning streak will come to an end today. The index is down 0.38% with 35 minutes left in the trading day, leaving little time to mount a rally. A disappointing reading of University of Michigan/Thomson Reuters Consumer Sentiment Index didn't give investors confidence to buy today. The reading fell to 71.8 in March from 77.6 in February -- the lowest level since December 2011.

JPMorgan Chase is the biggest drag on the Dow, falling 2.1% today. The Federal Reserve told the bank to fix flaws in how it determines capital payouts to shareholders, although the Fed did approve plans for dividends and buybacks. The Senate also released a report saying that JPMorgan ignored risks and misled investors in relation to its derivative portfolio.

On the flip side of banking, Bank of America is up 4% today after the Fed approved the company's capital plans. B of A will buy back $5 billion of stock and $5.5 billion of preferred stock, which is a deal for investors, because the company is buying at less than book value right now. This is another sign of strength at Bank of America.

Boeing's stock is up 1.8% after the company said it may have its fleet of 787s back in the air within weeks. The company has gained approval to test its new battery design and thinks the FAA will soon be able to lift its grounding of the fleet. Shares have been trading higher every time there's news of progress on the 787's path back to production, and today is no different. Let's not forget that this will end up costing the company a lot of money, which investors seem to be looking past for the time being.

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Fool contributor Travis Hoium has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase & Co. 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 Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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