Markets closed low on Tuesday as uncertain investors waited things out for the week. Most stocks in the primary S&P 500 fell.
Telecoms were on the upswing, however. News of a Windstream Holdings strategy propelled telecom stocks.
The Dow Jones Industrial dropped by 0.4 percent or 70.48 points, according to reports. That brought the Dow to 16,912.11. The S&P 500 index lost 8.96 points, dropping it by 0.5 percent. That brought it to a close at 1,969.95. For the NASDAQ, a loss of 2.21 points, or 0.1 percent was lost, bringing it to close at 4,442.70.
Several pieces of news had investors on the fence, including the recent news that the U.S. and European Union may impose tough sanctions against Russia amidst political upheaval in the region surrounding Ukraine. News like that will worry investors. Russia is a major economic power and business between Russia and the West will be certainly strained under a sanctioned environment. Investors decided to await more news from the region.
Year over year, the Dow gained 2 percent and the S&P 500 6.6 percent. This was mostly due to improved economic conditions and low interest rates at the Fed. Investors will look next to earnings reports.
The telecom rally prevented worse delcine in the market, as reports indicate. A weak outlook from United Parcel Service (UPS) caused doubt and gave many a reason to sell shares of the company. UPS shares fell by 3.7 percent, the report continued. The company adjusted its earnings forecast to make room for more spending to boost productivity. Investors saw this as a sign to sell shares.
The S&P telecoms sector jumped 3.9 percent. AT&T shares rose 4 percent to $37.09, Verizon was up 2.4 percent at $52.82, CenturyLink rose 9.2 percent to $41.18 and Frontier Communications was up 18.2 percent to $7.02, reports noted Tuesday.
Some of the jumps in telecoms reflect other business news. Windstream Holdings leaped up 18.2 percent to $12.45. The company reportedly filed to spin off assets into a publicly-traded real estate trust that is also quite tax efficient.
Drug companies Merck and Pfizer shares also saw gains. Mercks earnings from new drugs offset the losses Merck took after generic competitors trumped its older drugs. Both companies' quarterly reports pleased many investors.
JP Morgan and others believe that stocks in the U.S. will improve overall. The economic conditions, they say, will be key to the stocks' success. Other analysts agree and have cautioned not to only read into political headlines and other bad news.
