Today, the market continued its tortuous path of the last two weeks, falling sharply virtually the entire day with the DJI ending down 326 points, the S&P 500 down 2.3% (it’s worst day since June 20, 2013), and the NASDAQ down 2.6%.  We are now down about 6% from the S&P 500’s high on January 15.  A drop of 10% is generally thought of as correction, so we have another 4% or so to fall. 

The Senate has rejected the House bill, and the government will shut down at midnight if the House doesn’t submit a “clean” bill with ObamaCare issues removed.  The current thinking is that is unlikely.  What is more likely is a day or week extension to allow time for more negotiating (as if any has really taken place).  How will the market react?

Today was a flat market day with the DJIA and the S&P off a small amount while NASDAQ gained a few points. But it was better than last week when all style/caps ended the week in the red. Large-cap value was down the least, at -0.8%, while small-cap value was down the most, at -1.11%. 

Four stocks that don't ordinarily make the cut for our institutional portfolios piqued my interest in today's market. One had only two analysts reporting estimates; all had dividends, but none were as high as 2%. For these reasons, they were eliminated from consideration for our institutional portfolios. Yet, all are interesting growth companies, reasonably priced, and in multiple sectors.

The weekend’s worries that the Fed may be planning the end or slowdown of QE3 translated into a lackluster market performance with little movement in any of the major indices.