By Anora Mahmudova, MarketWatch
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- The U.S. stock market trimmed losses
and eyed gains on Monday though markets lacked conviction to build
on last week's rally. A cautious mood prevailed ahead of Federal
Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen's testimony on Tuesday.
Sharp gains in the past two sessions, which helped indexes
bounce off key technical levels, split analysts' views. Some are
calling for an end to the correction and others expect the pullback
to continue.
Stocks rallied on Thursday and Friday as investors found
positive aspects in both jobless claims and the jobs report, even
though the number of jobs created last month fell short of
expectations.
The S&P 500 (SPX) was 1 point, or 0.1% lower at 1,795.76.
The benchmark index fell as much as 5.8% from its peak before
rebounding on Thursday. It is less than 3% below its all-time high
reached on Jan 15.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) fell 20 points, or 0.1%,
to 15,775.71.
The Nasdaq Composite (RIXF) defied the broader trend and rose
10.7 points, or 0.3% to 4,136.70.
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Channing Smith, managing director at Capital Advisors says that
this week will be critical to validate the bearish view if the
S&P 500 tests its 100-day moving average.
"In the near-term, it looks like the S&P 500 is between
50-day and 100-day moving averages. If it falls below the 100-day
moving average, then we expect more downside," Smith said.
"In the longer-term, we do not see much risk for a great
selloff, as credit spreads remain healthy and the 10-year yields
are stable. Though we are watching the emerging markets carefully,"
he added.
This week investors will focus on Fed Chairwoman Yellen's first
semi-annual monetary policy testimony to Congress, coming on
Tuesday. She is scheduled to appear before the Senate Banking
Committee on Thursday. History shows that her predecessor Ben
Bernanke has given the market a boost in the past with those
testimonies.
There were relatively few earnings results on Monday.
Shares in Hasbro Inc. (HAS) fell initially after the toy maker's
quarterly earnings, announced before the market open, missed Wall
Street's expectations. Hasbro said profit edged down as weakness in
its boys' category offset growth in both the girls' and games
business. However, shares reversed losses and are up 5.7%, leading
S&P 500 gainers.
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) said its global same-store sales improved
in January, with stronger performances in China and Europe making
up for softness in the U.S. Shares were 0.9% lower.
Shares in Loews Corp. (L) fell 4%, making it the worst performer
on the S&P 500 index. The company said its fourth-quarter loss
widened owing to impairment charges that offset growth for its CNA
Financial Corp. (CNA) unit .
Apple Inc. (AAPL) shares rose 1.7% after activist investor Carl
Icahn backed off a bit from some of his rhetoric regarding Apple's
share buyback efforts. In a open letter to Apple shareholders,
Icahn said he was "supportive" of Apple recently buying back $14
billion of its stock.
Yelp Inc. (YELP) was also a big gainer, rising 3.7% following
reports that Yahoo Inc. will incorporate Yelp's listings and
reviews of local businesses into results on Yahoo's search
engine.
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