Stocks edged lower Tuesday, after a surprisingly big drop in consumer confidence dashed Wall Street’s hopes for a quick economic turnaround.
A rumor that U.S. special forces had landed in Iraq – later denied by a Pentagon spokesman – swept through trading desks and exacerbated the market’s swift midmorning drop, traders said.
The Dow Jones industrial average fell 30.45 points, or 0.30 percent, to 10,115.26.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index was down 0.03 points, or less than 1 percent at 1,109.40.
The Nasdaq Composite was of 3.02 points, or 0.16 percent, at 1,766.86.
Resistance – the point where sellers are likely to emerge – is at 10,210 for the Dow, 1,810 for the Nasdaq and 1,120 for the S&P, according to research firm Schaeffers-research.com.
Support – where buyers are expected to swoop in – is at 10,000 for the Dow, 1,700 for the Nasdaq and 1,090 for the S&P.
The levels are key elements of technical analysis, which studies prices, volumes and charts.