Activity in the stock market today was directly correlated with remarks regarding debt discussion in the eurozone, even if headlines hinted that officials there are doing little more that acknowledged the topic. The major benchmarks spent the initial part of the session chopping along lethargically before investors were prompted to send stocks lower. Their attempts came in reaction to reports regarding the probability that an EU Summit this coming weekend could be delayed. Any postponement would only highlight the lack of advancement in eurozone debt discussion. However, news that leaders of France and Germany will gather in a meeting in coming days started to bring buyers back into the fold. That news came right about the time that the S&P 500 was competent to find technical support just under the psychologically-important 1200 line. Regional lender Fifth Third (NASDAQ:FITB) was particularly strong on the support of a better-than-projected quarterly report. On the contrary, American Express (NYSE:AXP) only found higher ground in the last minutes, regardless of an upside earnings surprise of its own. eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY) meet the consensus earnings forecast, but its shares still exchanged sharply lower, making the stock one of the top losers in the Nasdaq, which lagged its counterparts for the second consecutive session. Tech was the actual source of failing for the Nasdaq, though. There was flood of data today; counting initial jobless claims for the week finished October 15. Claims summed 403,000, which is mark on with what had been projected, among economists surveyed by Briefing.com. The latest count is also little changed from the positively amended tally of 409,000 claims recorded for the previous week. The most recent Philadelphia Fed Survey enhanced to 8.7 for October from the -17.5 that was reported in September. The October reading had been likely to stay negative, but get better to only negative 8.8. Existing home sales set a yearly rate in September of 4.91 million units, which is merely a little below the pace of 4.92 million units that had been normally projected among economists polled by Briefing.com. The pace recorded for September marked a slowdown from the pace of 5.06 million units announced for the previous month. Leading Indicators rose by 0.2%, which closely missed the 0.3% rise that had been generally projected. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added +0.32% or +37.16 points to 11,541.78 however it showed a positive monthly performance of +133.12 points or +1.17% which sustained to remain up for a year with +479.00 points or +4.33% and YTD performance firmed at -27.93 points or -0.24%. The S&P 500 Index gained +0.46% or +5.51 points to 1,215.39 however it showed a positive monthly performance of +13.30 points or +1.11% which was positive for a year with +39.20 points or +3.33% and YTD performance firmed at -42.49 points or -3.38%. The NASDAQ Composite Index decreased -0.21% or -5.42 points to 2,598.62 however it exhibited a positive monthly performance of +8.38 points or +0.32% which struggled to remain up for a year with +129.85 points or +5.26% and YTD performance firmed at -64.36 points or -2.42%. Among the Highly Traded Stocks SPY, BAC, XLF and IWM recorded to be on top, Financial Select Sector SPDR (ETF) (NYSE:XLF) traded overall volume of 121.10 million shares having the average volume of 121.13 million shares. Orsus Xelent Technologies Inc. (AMEX:ORS) emerged as the Positive Momentum Stock with soared percentage change of +54.10% and closed the day at $3.76. It had traded below its 52 week high range which was $14.52. Other stocks that remained bullish are URRE, JASO and SCSS. Converted Organics Inc. (OTC:COIN) appeared as the Negative Momentum Stock with slipped percentage change of -36.96% and closed the day at $0.0290 however it had traded the volume of 14.79 million shares less than its average volume of 0.48 million shares. Other stocks that remained bearish are PLCM, CRUS and HRZ. In the basic material sector companies whose shares were highly traded included Alcoa Inc. NYSE:AA and Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc NYSE:FCX as their shares were traded in high volumes. In addition, the stock price of AA surged 1.84% however FCX increased 1.19%. If we talk about the business sectors then the basic material sector remained among the modest losers as it went down by -0.02%. In addition to the conglomerates in the materials sector, the firm that is effectively managing its business is Majestic Gold Corp CVE:MJGCF.PK. As a result of Thursday trade, Company’s share price remained unchanged and settled at $0.170. Based in Vancouver, Majestic Gold Corporation is a TSX Venture Exchange and Frankfurt Exchange listed gold exploration and development company with a very advanced gold deposit in Shandong province of China. Gold is very significant element that is used in producing jewelry and ornaments. It is also vital for its role in economics and transactions. In early times gold was used for day to day transactions however now gold standards are used to generate sufficient value against a paper currency. People also use to invest in gold and it is the only metal that investors consider as asylum in the time of crisis. The aluminum, fabricated aluminum, and alumina combined production company Alcoa Inc. NYSE:AA had trade of about 36.64 million shares on Thursday and its market capitalization was $10.59 billion. Company’s stock price increased 1.84% and closed at $9.95. At New York Mercantile, Gold prices slipped -34.10 points or -2.07% and the last trade recorded was at $1,612.90 an ounce. Crude Oil prices at New York decreased -0.22 points or -0.25% and closed at $86.07 a barrel while its previous day trading range was $85.12 - $86.84.

Source