After The Close - The major U.

S stock market indexes were mixed but mostly lower in trading today, after having closed at record levels in the prior session. Those gains were spurred by healthy retail profits, a bounce in oil prices, and encouraging jobs data. Although the prior-month reading was revised upward to show 0.

Stock Market Today: August 12,

Elsewhere, the Labor Department reported that the Producer Price Index fell 0. The unexpected decline resulted from lower services and energy costs, and appears to underscore the ongoing mild inflationary environment.

Elsewhere, oil prices rose sharply for the second time in as many days, on the heels of a report by the IEA highlighting the rebalancing in global supply, as well as comments by a Saudi Arabia official suggesting the potential for a coordinated effort to support prices. Six of the ten major sectors were in the red, with basic materials down the most, while energy provided a degree of support.

There is a mixed quality to the session overall, as advancers are about even with decliners on the NYSE. The major market sectors are divided. Strength can be seen in the energy stocks. Of note, the price of crude oil is up again today, after advancing nicely yesterday, and that is likely helping the equities in this group.

Many of the consumer names, such as the retailers, are also making progress. Meanwhile, weakness can be found in the basic materials and healthcare names. Traders received a handful of economic reports this morning.

Specifically, the Producer Price Index declined 0. Further, business inventories moved higher by 0. Finally, retail sales were unchanged in July, where many analysts had been looking for a slight improvement. Meanwhile, in corporate news, shares of Nordstrom JWN are trading higher today, in response to a better-than-expected report. In addition, shares of J. The stock market is holding up rather well, given that the second-quarter corporate earnings season is now largely over, and we are in the final weeks of the summer.

Before The Bell - After a back-and-forth first three trading session of the week, Wall Street's bulls sought to recapture the momentum on display last Friday. Back then, readers will recall that an upward surprise on the job creation front for July had helped to unleash a torrent of buying by these perennial optimists.

That momentum was sorely missed over the first three trading days of this week, a brief span, which saw traders struggle for direction.

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But yesterday morning, the buyers returned and took equities higher from the outset, with the gains actually accelerating as we headed into the lunch hour on the East Coast. Behind this renewed buying spurt, which saw the Dow Jones Industrial Average post a morning-best gain of more than points, were better earnings in the retailing space, specifically from department store chains Macy's Inc.

M and Kohl's Corp. That better showing also encouraged traders to look ahead to a just-released report on monthly retail sales see below. Overall, stocks reached noon holding a Dow gain of points and a point win in the NASDAQ.

In sum, all of the 10 equity groups, save for the utilities, were ahead at the time, along with twice as many stocks as not on the NYSE. This strong showing then continued into the first part of the afternoon, with the Dow's gain approaching points by 2: In getting that high, the stock composite reached an all-time intraday record. It was a broad-based rally encompassing nearly all groups, but led by the consumer stocks on those encouraging retailing metrics and by the energy group, following the day's solid gains in oil prices.

The rally then continued into the close, with just modest retracements toward the final bell. Meanwhile, advancing issues led declining stocks by better than three-to-two, while all 10 of the leading sectors finished higher, led by the energy and consumer cyclical groups.

Looking out to a new day, and peering overseas, we see that stocks were generally higher in Asia overnight, in spite of the fact that economic data out of China just missed forecasts; the trading day, meantime, is more mixed in Europe thus far this morning.

As to our futures, the pre That was before the reports on producer prices and retail sales were released. Now that those key readings are out, the futures are pulling back somewhat. As to the inflation report, the latest data showed that the PPI fell by 0. An increase of 0. As to retail spending, the data from the U. Commerce Department showed that such spending was unexpectedly flat last month, as Americans cut back on purchases of clothing and other goods.

This dour issuance could temper expectations for a pickup in GDP growth in the current quarter. An increase in spending 0.

On the other hand, revised sales data for June showed that retail spending had jumped by 0. In all, sales rose by 2.

Meanwhile, excluding autos, retail sales dipped by 0.

As to the latest report, the so-called core rate of spending corresponds closely to the consumer spending component of GDP. So, with this dampening effect, some economists, who had been predicting a surge in third-quarter growth, might now pare back those forecasts.

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It should be recalled that strong consumer outlays in the first half had helped to cushion the blow from an inventory drawdown and faltering business fixed investment. The day-long selloff can be mostly attributed to weakness in the energy sector , where cautious optimism that OPEC and other producers would inject some normalcy into the market has all but faded. Disappointing metrics on retail, industrial production, housing starts and others have added credence to the growing consensus that 2.

All but one of the ten major market sectors closed in the red today, while the NASDAQ registered the widest loss, 51 points 0. Dashboard Browse Research Markets Find Ideas Investment Education Subscribe Institutional. Overview Daily Updates Economic Calendar Featured Commentaries Industries.

Katz, Adam Rosner, Simon Shnayder August 12, June 21, Right around the noon hour on the East Coast , the major stock averages are diverging as a point rise on the NASDAQ contrasts with a point pullback on the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

Market breadth confirms the trends on the major indexes, with advancing issues ahead of decliners on the NASDAQ, but the opposite holding true on the Big Board.

Both indexes closed at new all-time highs. However, the NASDAQ was the winner of the day , as tech stocks regained more of the ground they lost over the last couple of weeks. Up by 87 points, the composite came out ahead by 1. The equity market moved lower this morning, but improved somewhat as the day progressed.

Market breadth showed a mixed session, with winners about even with losers on the NYSE. The major equity groups were divided. The energy stocks and utilities logged solid gains, while the consumer names retreated.