Investors Awaiting Data Shut Wallets, and Stocks Fall
With long-awaited economic figures about to be released, investors hunkered down, pushing down both stock prices and trading volumes.</br></br>The Nasdaq Composite Index, which gained 19% last week, is now slightly down for this week after giving back 0.36%, or 13.70 points, to close at 3825.56. It is a similar story for the Dow Jones Industrial Average, up 4.8% last week, but down 1.33%, or 144.14 points, to 10668.72 yesterday.</br></br>Other indexes also fell, although bonds and the dollar managed gains. Trading volumes were among the lightest of the year.</br></br>One reason for the Dow Jones Industrial Average's weakness was an earnings warning from Procter & Gamble. But the bigger issue hanging over the market is a group of economic announcements, starting with May producer prices this morning. That could help determine whether the Federal Reserve feels the need to continue raising interest rates at the end of this month.</br></br>"People are waiting for confirmation of the economic numbers we saw last week, to give them conviction to put more money into this market," said Brian Conroy, head of listed trading at J.P. Morgan.