All three major indexes finished deep in the red today, as minutes from the December Federal Reserve meeting indicated plans for an aggressive pullback in bond holdings and general policy aid before the summer. The Nasdaq suffered the greatest, taking a 522-point haircut, while the Dow followed behind with a 392-point loss of its own. Weighing on the former was mega-cap tech stocks, as well as a drop in chipmakers. Investors are also digesting the latest ADP employment report, which showed a job growth of 807,000 for December.
The Dow Jones Average (DJI - 36,407.11) shed 392.54 points or 1.1% for the day. Merck (MRK) led the gainers today, adding 2.4%, and Salesforce.com (CRM) paced the laggards for a second day, with an 8.3% fall.
The S&P 500 Index (SPX - 4,700.58) slipped 93 points or 1.9% for the day. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite (IXIC -15,100.17) moved 522.5 points lower, or down 3.3% for today's session.
Lastly, the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX - 19.73) added 2.8 points or 16.68% for the day.
OIL LOGS 6-WEEK HIGH ON INVENTORY DATA
Oil logged its best day since November following a sixth-straight weekly drop in domestic crude inventories. The Energy Information Administration (EIA) also reported that U.S. crude fell by 2.1 million barrels in the week ending Dec. 31. February-dated oil added 86 cents, or 1.1%, to finish at $77.85 per barrel.
Ahead of the release of the Fed's meeting minutes, Gold futures marked a win for a second session, as investors flocked in fear to the precious metal. February-dated gold tacked on $10.50, or 0.6%, to close at $1,825.10 per ounce.
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