Despite S&P Rating Boost, Stock Market Punches The Clock

The markets seesawed in a tight range Monday on the heels of a turbulent week for Wall Street as traders parsed through corporate headlines and an upgrade of the U.S. credit outlook by S&P.

Today’s Markets

According to preliminary calculations, the Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeted 11.2 points, or 0.07%, to 15237, the S&P 500 fell 0.62 point, or 0.04%, to 1643 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 4.6 points, or 0.13%, to 3474.

Last week on Wall Street saw volatility. The markets took a thrashing in mid-week on Street worries that the Federal Reserve will soon begin slowing down its $85 billion a month in bond purchases. However, a round of not very strong jobs data out on Friday sent traders racing back into equities.

While trading was relatively quiet on Monday, defensive sectors such as utilities and consumer staples fared the worst. Typical safe-haven U.S. Treasury bonds fell as well, which pushed the yield on the 10-year up to 2.192%.

Standard & Poor’s boosted its outlook – although it is not clear why – on the U.S. credit rating to “stable” from “negative.” The ratings company currently has the U.S. rated at AA+. The other two major ratings firms, Moody’s Investors Service and Fitch, both have still maintained a top-notch rating on the country (of course prosecution by the Department of Justice after downgrades are a good incentive).

In corporate news, McDonald’s (MCD) said its global same-store sales jumped 2.6% in May, easily outpacing estimates of 1.9%. Shares of the world’s biggest burger chain advanced solidly on the news.

Apple (AAPL) kicked off its Worldwide Developers Conference today. The tech giant is expected to roll out the next version of iOS, the software that powers its mobile devices. On top of that, the Cupertino, Calif.-based company may also announce a music streaming service that could compete with Pandora (P) and a new Apple TV.

IHS said it will buy R.L. Polk & Co. as it looks to expand its reach into the automotive-data sector. Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed. Google (GOOG) was near a deal to buy Waze, a traffic and navigation app, for roughly $1 billion, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal. The search behemoth reportedly edged out Apple and Facebook (FB), who were both said to be eyeing the firm.

The economic calendar is bare on Monday, but picks up as the week progresses. Among the key data on tap are a report on retail sales, two reports on inflation, and a key gauge of consumer sentiment.

St. Louis Federal Reserve President James Bullard gave a somewhat tepid backing to continued quantitative easing. According to a statement from the St. Louis Fed:

Inflation in the U.S. has surprised to the downside. This configuration of data suggests that the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) can continue to pursue its aggressive asset purchase program.

Commodities were mildly lower. The benchmark U.S. crude oil contract dipped 26 cents, or 0.27%, to $95.77 a barrel. Wholesale New York Harbor gasoline fell 0.81% to $2.848 a gallon. In metals, gold prices edged up $3, or 0.22%, to $1,386 a troy ounce.

Foreign Markets

The Euro Stoxx 50 rose 0.06% to 2726, the English FTSE 100 edged lower by 0.13% to 6404 and the German DAX jumped 1% to 8337.

In Asia, the Japanese Nikkei 225 rallied 4.9% to 13514 and the Chinese Hang Seng ticked higher by 0.18% to 21615.