WALL STREET : DJIA Surrenders 12,400

Mid Day Gains Evaporate as Dow and S&P forfeits in late trading 

It was a roller-coaster day on Wall Street, with stocks bouncing the ISM's non-manufacturing index created headwinds in morning action, but a major acquisition announcement from tech titan Texas Instruments helped the bulls regain control by lunchtime.  

from early losses to midday gains back to afternoon losses. A disappointing reading from

However, the 2:00 p.m. release of the minutes from the latest meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) cast a pall over the Street, with the central bankers confessing to "uncertainty about the economic outlook," and a few members warning of increased inflationary risks.

On the plus side, at least, it was a pretty tame roller-coaster ride; the trading range on the Dow Jones Industrial Average totaled just 85 points in today's relatively low-volume session.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA – 12,393.90) surrendered its short-lived foothold north of 12,400, ending on a loss of 6.1 points, or 0.05%. Sixteen of the Dow's 30 components finished in the red, led by Boeing and General Electric. Aluminum giant Alcoa set the pace for the 13 advancing blue chips, while American Express finished flat. Despite today's less-than-stellar finish, the Dow found its way to an intraday peak of 12,438.14 -- its highest price since June 6, 2008.

Meanwhile, the S&P 500 Index (SPX – 1,332.63) also gave back all of its intraday gains, settling on a barely perceptible loss of 0.24 point, or 0.02%. As a result, the SPX remains pinned just below the key 1,333 level.

 Finally, strength in tech stocks helped the Nasdaq Composite (COMP – 2,791.19) buck the afternoon slump, with the COMP eking out a gain of 2 points, or 0.07%. However, the COMP is still staring up at the psychologically significant 2,800 region.

TECHNICAL ANALYSIS

Dow Jones Industrial Average

The Dow closed slightly lower due to light profit taking on Tuesday but remains above broken resistance marked by February's high crossing at 12,391.
Stochastics and the RSI are overbought but remain neutral to bullish signaling that sideways to higher prices are possible near-term. If the Dow extends the aforementioned rally, weekly resistance crossing at 12,767 is the next upside target.
Closes below the 20-day moving average crossing at 12,109 are needed to confirm that a short-term top has been posted. First resistance is today's high crossing at 12,438. Second resistance is weekly resistance crossing at 12,767. First support is the 10-day moving average crossing at 12,279. Second support is the 20-day moving average crossing at 12,109.

HAPPY TRADING