Slide in manufacturing hits stocks
The US stock market has ended a strong third quarter with trading that reflected investors' mixed emotions about the US economy.
The Dow Jones industrial average fell 29.92, or 0.3%, to close on Wednesday at 9,712.28, after falling as much as 134 points during the day.
The broader Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 3.53, or 0.3%, to 1,057.08. It rose 15% for the quarter after gaining 15.2% in the previous quarter. The index, which is the basis for many mutual funds, is up 56.3% since hitting a 12-year low in March.
The Nasdaq composite index fell 1.62, or 0.1%, to 2,122.42. It rose 15.7% for the quarter.
The major indexes closed slightly lower after zigzagging through the day. Prices got a lift from the government's latest reading on the gross domestic product, then plunged on news of a surprise drop in Midwestern manufacturing.
The Dow ended down nearly 30 points as investors remained uneasy about economic data and shifted bets as the dollar strengthened. The drop shaved only a modest amount from the Dow's 15% gain for the July-September period, its strongest quarter in 11 years.
The day's slide-and-bounce performance was a fitting one for the end of the quarter. When bad news hits the market, reminding investors of the economy's fragility, stocks slide.
But within a few days, or even the same day, they start to recover as investors seem to grab hold of the fact that no one expects the recovery, or stocks, to have an unbroken path upward.
"Any legitimate decline in the market is just seen as a buying opportunity," said David Waddell, senior investment strategist and CEO of Waddell & Associates.
"That pattern has continued now ever since the rally began."
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