U.S. Stocks Finish August Down Slightly | | By Stephen Grocer | Market Snap at Wed, 31 Aug 2016 18:55:45 -0400 ET S&P 500 -0.24% ↓ 2170.95 | DJIA -0.29% ↓ 18400.88 | Nasdaq Comp -0.19% ↓ 5213.22 | U.S. 10 Year -4/32 ↑ 1.583% | Crude Oil 0.45% ↑ $44.9 | Gold 0.09% ↑ $1312.60 | Yen/Dollar -0.09% ↓ $103.33 | Euro/Dollar 0.02% ↑ $1.12 | How We Got Here Stocks closed out an eerily calm August with slight monthly losses. Over the course of the month, volatility and trading volumes dropped off, major U.S. indexes moved in a narrow range and investor expectations for stock-market swings plumbed their lowest levels in years. Major U.S. stock indexes ended the month at roughly the same level at which they started it. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 declined slightly more than 0.1% in August. One cause of the stock-market paralysis: questions about the course of U.S. monetary policy. Low interest rates have become the main driver of investments globally, pushing money into any corner of the markets that offer steady income payments. On Wednesday, a tumble in the price of oil weighed on the broader market, after data showed U.S. stockpiles of crude oil increased to another record. Still, traders described relatively few shares changing hands, as has been typical in recent weeks. | Coming Up Data Front: Motor Vehicle Sale, Chain Store Sales, Jobless Claims (8:30 a.m. ET), Productivity and Costs (8:30 a.m. ET), PMI Manufacturing Index (9:45 a.m ET), ISM Mfg Index (10:00 a.m. ET), Construction Spending (10:00 a.m. ET). Fedspeak:Cleveland Fed's Loretta Mester Speaks (12:25 p.m. ET). Earnings: Joy Global (6:00 a.m. ET), Ciena (7:00 a.m.), Campbell Soup (7:15 a.m. ET) Broadcom (4:05 p.m. ET), Smith & Wesson (4:05 p.m. ET), Lululemon Athletica (after the close) | MoneyBeat Podcast |  Play Podcast → Ken Fisher, the founder and chairman of Fisher Investments, joins Paul Vigna and Stephen Grocer with his thoughts on the Fed, how the 2016 election could impact the markets, and what makes for a good stock investment. Subscribe to the MoneyBeat podcast at wsj.com or on iTunes. | Tweet of the Day In August, composite stock trading average volume of 6,027,791,960 was lowest monthly average since Sept. 2014, per WSJ Market Data Group -- Ben Eisen @BenEisen | Today's Video |  Play Video → South Korea's biggest shipping line, Hanjin Shipping Co., filed for bankruptcy protection on Wednesday as falling trade volumes claimed another victim. Shipping is one of the sectors in which South Korea is a global leader, so what does this recent collapse tell us about world trade? | Number of the Day -6.14% The percentage the S&P 500 utilities sector declined in August, making it the worst performing sector for the month. | Must Reads Cash Keeps Pouring Out of European Stocks: Money has flowed out of European equity funds every week for more than six months, a stretch that is now longer than the previous record set during the financial crisis. Deutsche Bank Weighs Stronger Medicine: As Deutsche Bank's woes mount, executives are looking at ways to speed up its revamp, including selling all or part of a key business. One idea considered was a merger with Germany's Commerzbank, but that was deemed not viable. Consumers Are Driving Up Stocks. Why That's Nothing to Worry About: As the S&P 500 reached new highs in August, the only sector to do so was consumer stocks. Such a narrow rally usually signals dangerous frothiness. This time, though, it may simply reflect a change in the forces driving the market. Birth of the Index Mutual Fund: 'Bogle's Folly' Turns 40: Forty years ago today, the index mutual fund was born, the brain child of Vanguard founder John C. Bogle. At the time, critics called the index fund "un-American" and a sure path to mediocrity, but it has proven to be an innovation that radically democratized the financial markets. Oil Prices Fall on U.S. Crude Stockpile Increase: Oil prices fell Wednesday after weekly inventory data showed that U.S. stockpiles of crude oil and petroleum products increased to a record high. Emerging Markets: Catch the Yield Where You Can: The latest target in the search for anything with a yield: emerging-market bonds in local currencies. Bidding War for Medivation Is Good News for Biotech: Pfizer had stiff competition in the chase for Medivation, which bodes well for biotech. | Chart of the Day |  | | Follow WSJ Evening MoneyBeat |  | |
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