U.S. Stock Market Closes Best Third Quarter Since 2010

Major U.S. stock indexes and ETFs slide into the weekend to cap a down week

Consolidation continues in U.S. stock markets after the recent rally on concern over ongoing negative economic reports and worries over Spain.

For the day, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (NYSEARCA:DIA) declined 0.36%, the S&P 500 (NYSEARCA:SPY) slipped 0.45%, the Nasdaq 100 (NYSEARCA:QQQ) declined 0.8% and the Russell 2000 (NYSEARCA:IWM) dropped 0.7%.

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The decline was triggered by ongoing negative economic reports and technical consolidation from overbought levels.

As September draws to a close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (NYSEARCA:DIA) is up 2.7% for the month, the S&P 500 has gained 2.4% for September and the Nasdaq Composite (NYSEARCA:QQQ) added 1.6%.

In economic news, the Spanish banks survived their stress tests without too much stress and the Chicago PMI declined into contraction territory for the first time in three years.  Consumer spending rose but didn’t keep up with wages, indicating that the increased spending came out of saving or borrowing.  On the plus side, University of Michigan consumer sentiment rose to its best level in four months.

In other markets, gold (NYSEARCA:GLD) declined 0.26% and oil (NYSEARCA:USO) slipped 0.15%.

Bottom line:  Stocks and ETFs round out a strong quarter with a lackluster finish but remain in bullish up trends on a technical basis in spite of ongoing economic data headwinds.

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John Nyaradi is the author of The ETF Investing Premium Newsletter.