Market Wrap for Tuesday, March 12: Dow Records Small Gain While S&P and Nasdaq Fall

The U.S. stock market closed Tuesday's session mixed with the Dow eking out the smallest of gains and the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite recording small losses.

Among the worst performing sectors on the day were technology and consumer cyclical stocks. The best performers were basic materials and healthcare. While there was little in the way of bearish news, the market could be getting exhausted and a short-term reversal is a possibility.

Major Averages

The Dow Jones Industrial Average added a little less than 3 points, or 0.02 percent, to close at 14,450.

The S&P 500 lost around 4 points, or 0.24 percent, to 1,552.

The Nasdaq fell almost 11 points, or 0.32 percent, to 3,242.

Commodities

Late in Tuesday's equity trading session, energy prices were mixed. At last check, NYMEX crude futures had risen around 0.45 percent to $92.49 while Brent contracts were down around 0.67 percent to $109.48. Natural gas lost 0.44 percent on the day and was last trading at $3.63.

Precious metals rose on Tuesday. Near the close of equities, COMEX gold futures were up 0.94 percent to $1,592.90. Silver futures had risen 1.24 percent to $29.21. Copper added around 1 percent on the session.

In the agricultural complex, both corn and wheat recorded small gains or around 0.50 percent. In soft commodities, cocoa added better than 1.30 percent and coffee traded down around 1 percent on the day.

Bonds

Near the close of stocks, the iShares Barclays 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (NYSE:TLT) had added around 0.64 percent to $115.60. Higher bond prices led to lower yields on the session.

While the 2-Year yield held steady at 0.25 percent, the yield on the 5-Year Note fell two basis points to 0.87 percent. The 10-Year Note yield and 30-Year Bond yield both lost four basis points to 3.22 percent.

Currencies

The U.S. dollar was basically flat on Tuesday. The PowerShares DB US Dollar Index Bullish ETF (NYSE:UUP), which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of foreign currencies, was unchanged near the close.

The closely watched EUR/USD pair was last trading down around 0.10 percent to $1.3020 while the USD/JPY fell 0.69 percent. Other significant movers included the AUD/USD which added 0.47 percent.

Volatility and Volume

Despite only marginal losses in the S&P 500, the VIX jumped from 52-week low levels. The VIX rose better than 6 percent on the day to 12.31.

Volume was significantly lighter than average, with around 88 million SPDR S&P 500 ETF (NYSE:SPY) shares trading hands versus a 3-month daily average of 133 million.

Stock Movers

Outdoor outfitter Cabela's (NYSE:CAB) surged around 13 percent after the company raised its first-quarter earnings guidance.

Glu Mobile (NASDAQ:GLUU) jumped better than 16 percent near the close after the company launched real money gambling on its gaming platform.

Dicks Sporting Goods (NYSE:DKS) climbed 5 percent a day after the stock fell sharply in the wake of the company's quarterly earnings results.

Diamond Foods (NASDAQ:DMND) plunged around 10 percent after the company released its fiscal second-quarter earnings results.

Endeavour Silver (NYSE:EXK) was trading up around 12 percent near the close after the company released its fiscal fourth-quarter and full-year earnings results.

Heckmann (NYSE:HEK) climbed better than 11 percent after its fourth-quarter and full-year earnings results.

Sears Hometown and Outlet Stores (NASDAQ:SHOS) fell more than 12 percent after the company's Q4 results.

Emeritus Corp. (NYSE:ESC) was trading down more than 9 percent late on Tuesday after the company announced a secondary offering.

Yandex (NASDAQ:YNDX) had lost around 8 percent heading into the close after the company announced an offering whereby insiders would be selling 24.3 million shares.

Scientific Games (NASDAQ:SGMS) lost almost 7 percent after the company reported a large loss in its fiscal fourth-quarter.