The major US  indices  are all closing lower as trading comes to a close for the day and the week. As a reminder, major indices will be closed tomorrow in observance of the Good Friday holiday. A snapshot of the market closes shows

• Dow industrial average down -113.38 points or -0.33% at 34451.24. Last week the index closed at 34721.13. For the week the index fell -0.78%
• S&P -54.00 index down -292.5 points or -1.21% at 4392.60. Last week the index closed at 4488.27. For the week the index is down -2.13%.
• NASDAQ index down -292.5 points or -2.14% at 13351.09. Last week the index closed at 13711.00 for the week the index is down -2.67%
• Russell 2000 down -20.12 points or -0.99% of 2004.98. Last week the index closed at 1994.56. For the week the index was up 0.57%

The big news at the start of the day was Elon Musk’s buyout offer of Twitter at $54.20. After initial spike higher, the price started to move back to the downside. It is closing down $0.77 or -1.68% at $45.08. The Twitter board is mulling the possibility of inserting a poison pill to prevent Musk from significantly upping stakes in the companies shares.

The major US indices are closing the session higher and in the process has snapped a 3 day losing streak for the S&P and Nasdaq. The Dow snapped a 2 day decline.

The final numbers are showing:

• Dow up 344.25 points or +1.01% at 24564.60
• S&P up 49.14 points or +1.12% at 4446.60
• Nasdaq up 272.03 points or +2.03% at 13643.60
• Russell 2000 +38.16 points or 1.92% at 2025.10

The three major US stock indices are closing lower on the day after giving up a solid gains. The NASDAQ index was up over 2% at its highs. The S&P index was up 1.34%. The NASDAQ and S&P are closing lower for the third consecutive day

The small-cap Russell 2000 index did eek out a small gain on the day.

The major US indices all closed lower as worries about higher rates, higher inflation, slower global growth, recession, you name it.

• S&P and NASDAQ closed lower for the second consecutive day
• S&P closed below its 200 hour moving average at 4420.58
• NASDAQ gapped below its 200 hour moving average up at 13707 and closed near session lows and down over 2%
• NASDAQ is down nearly 6% month to date
• All 11 sectors of the S&P moved lower led by energy (-3.1%), technology (-2.6%), and healthcare (-2.0%)

The final numbers are showing:

• Dow industrial average down -413.04 points or -1.19% at 34308.07
• S&P index down -75.73 points or -1.69% at 4412.54
• NASDAQ index down -299.03 points or -2.18% at 13411.97
• Russell 2000 down -14.23 points or -0.71% at 1980.32

The final numbers are showing:

The FOMC minutes have a knack for making everyone look stupid and that was certainly the case today.

A rout in stocks ensued following some hawkish comments in the report but the move didn’t last and eventually reversed. That wasn’t nearly enough to erase the day’s decline but it was enough to leave both sides feeling uneasy.

Closing levels:

• S&P 500 down 43 points, or 1.0%, to 4481
• Nasdaq -2.2%
• Russell 2000 -1.3%
• DJIA -0.4%
• VIX +1.06 to 22.09

This isn’t a great looking candle on the S&P 500 daily chart but it could have been worse.

The major stock indices erased the gains seen over the last up two trading days

• The Dow industrial average closed last Thursday at 34677.99. The index is closing today at 34641.17, down -280.7 points or -0.8%
• The S&P index closed last Thursday at 4530.42. The index is closing today at 4525.11, down -57.52 points or -1.26%.
• The NASDAQ index closed last Thursday at 14220.52. The index is closing today at 14204.18, down -328.3 points or -2.26%
• The Russell 2000 index closed last Thursday at 2070.12. The index is closing today at 2046.04, down -49.39 points or -2.36%.

The best sectors today include:

• utilities +0.7%
• healthcare +0.3%
• consumer staples +0.1%

The worst performers today included

• consumer discretionary -2.3%
• technology -2.1%
• energy -1.5%

The price of crude oil sold off from the settlement price at $101.96 and currently trades at $100.35. That’s down $-2.93 or -2.8%.