Career News 24/7: STOCKS SLIDE AFTER HITTING 4-YEAR HIGH: Here's What You Need To Know, August 21, 2012

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

STOCKS SLIDE AFTER HITTING 4-YEAR HIGH: Here's What You Need To Know, August 21, 2012

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Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Stocks quietly hit a major milestone. Then, quietly gave it all back.

First the scoreboard:

Dow: 13,203, -68.0, -0.5%
S&P 500: 1,413, -4.9, -0.3%
NASDAQ: 3,067, -8.9, -0.2%

And now the top stories:

Early in today's trading session, the S&P 500 hit a new pre-crisis high, that hasn't been seen since the summer of 2008. And the market slid into the close.
Before the markets opened, Best Buy managed to disappoint investors again by whiffing on its Q2 earnings announcement. Both revenue and earnings fell short of expectations. Domestic same-store sales fell 1.6 percent. Furthermore, management announced it would suspend earnings guidance. "After this type of news bomb, Best Buy reminds me of a decaying bridge; it was lovely and served an important purpose when it opened, but its decaying state through the years has caused a new bridge to be built nearby that is stealing all the car and truck traffic," wrote analyst Brian Sozzi. Don't Miss JP Morgan's Tom Lee's 12 Favorite Stocks >
Otherwise, it was yet another excruciatingly quiet day for for news.
With stocks hitting long-term highs, investors are left asking: What next? Nomura's Bob Janjuah isn't very optimistic. In a new note today, Janjuah argues that stocks could grind higher for the next few days. But then the next move would be a 20 to 25 percent collapse. Check Out The Trailer For The Bubble, Wall Street's Scariest Movie Ever >
Doug Kass of Seabreeze Partners is also cautious. Kass notes that the last five times the volatility index (VIX) fell this low, a sharp and quick sell-off soon followed.
Citi's Tobias Levkovich recently noted that, historically, September is the worst month for stocks. "The explanation may be that the third quarter is less predictable than other quarters due to summer vacation-related corporate sector downtime in the US and Europe (during July and August, respectively) leaving it more dependent on the only full month of business activity which makes accurate forecasting inherently more difficult," he wrote.
Don't Miss: BofA Presents: How To Invest If You Expect Obama To Win >