Low volume consolidation day

Index & Sector performance 12/30/13

The Market:

With only a few trading days left in the ear the market has seen a second straight consolidation date with the entire range of the S&P 500 coming in less than 4 points.

In economic news Pending Home Sales came in worse than expected posting a 0.2% when 1.1% was expected.  Tomorrow we get more data than today with Case-Shiller, Chicago PMI and Consumer Confidence all scheduled for release.

In the News:

Crocs (CROX) gained over 21% after partnering with Blackstone (BX) where BX will buy nearly $200M in convertible preferred stock.  CROX also announced a $350M share repurchase program.

Cooper Tire (CTB) gained over 5% after announcing they will not pursue the  $2.5B merger with Apollo Tyres LTD.

There was not a great deal of Analyst comments in today’s trading  but one note was on Disney (DIS) where Guggenheim upgraded DIS to Buy from Neutral with an $87 price target.

Last week Macquarie’s downgrade of Twitter (TWTR) stating the stock has gone too far too fast helped send the stock lower and that sell off continued today as TWTR lost over 5%.  After a gap down, TWTR managed to rally to near flat on the day but lost the majority of those gains in the final hour of trading.

The Game Plan:

With back to back mid week holidays, trading volume has been exceptionally light of late.  $1815 in the cash remains key support for more upside but traders should note and adjust for the decreased volume.