Prices changed direction more than once as the day ended with the DJIA losing -.14 percent, the S&P500 up just .02 percent, and the NASDAQ gaining .25 percent. The only remarkable factor of this combination is the diversity of direction. Moreover, in this century the DJIA has fallen 142 times while the S&P500 higher; the count for the negative DJIA and the positive NASDAQ changes is 274.
Accordingly, focus on this diversity contributes little to understanding market changes. On the other hand, the fact that prices did not diverge, nor ended substantially lower, or higher, seems to indicate a pause while a consensus awaits evaluation of the divergent, underlying forces affecting asset prices.
Note how these three indices have reacted since October 4. Then the NASDAQ had recovered 84 percent of its 2007 high; now it stands near 90 percent. The DJIA moved from 76 percent to 79 percent, and the S&P500 reached 77 percent, considerably higher than its October close of 73 percent.
DJIA -.14 percent
NASDAQ .25 percent
S&P500 .02 percent