Equities Close
Equities finished mixed on the day with Dow futures down 0.1%, S&P futures up 0.2%, and Nasdaq futures declining 0.9%. S&Ps had erased early morning losses to gain as much as 12 points at their high, but a late sell-off pared the advance to only 3 points. Today’s trading is likely to have been only a pause as S&Ps head down toward the March 17 low of 1258.
Financials were especially hard hit with Merrill and Citi losing 3% and Lehman plunging 11.3% to close at its lowest level since May-00.
Tomorrow, at 8:55am EDT, Redbook Retail Sales for the week ended June 27 will be released, followed by May Construction Spending at 10am, expected to be down 0.6%. Also at 10:00am, June ISM comes out, with a reading of 48.5 expected. June auto sales will be released throughout the day.