Peter Lee, Chief Technical Strategist at UBS believe's the S&P broke out of its trading range in December, but was in overbought territory and due for a pullback.
Here are the near term technical levels:
SPX Support 1240-1250 Resistance 1320-1350
DJIA 10700-10750 11000
NASDAQ 2200 2500-2700
Dollar 86-87 95-97
10 Yr Note 4.2% 4.7%
CRB Index 300 area 340 area
TODAY'S MARKET
DJIA: 10962.36, down 81.08
S&P 500: 1286.06, down 8.12
Nasdaq Composite: 2316.70, down 14.70
After visiting the 11,000 mark for a brief time, stocks pulled back from their 4 year highs.
High oil prices are putting pressure on the market as crude oil futures rose above the $65 level, while natural gas prices dropped below $9 for the first time since August.
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) increased its bid for Guidant (GDT), and investors are bracing themselves for a potential bidding war if Boston Scientific (BSX) follows suit.
Economic data released before the opening bell said that the U.S. trade deficit came in better than expected in November, as the cost of imported oil dropped, and exports rose to an all-time high. The report stated that December import prices fell 0.2%, instead of rising as expected.
