Review for Tuesday Nov 17

Another Inside Day and very narrow range ( NR 70 ) . Performance available in Twitter.

Financial Press Overview:A number of Dow components were in the news today as the Dow rose slightly to a new 13-month high. Home Depot lost more than 2% in today's session after reporting earnings. Both Home Depot and Target provided a disappointing outlook for the 'holiday shopping season' and suggested a meaningful recovery might not occur until the second half of next year. This news pressured the entire retail sector.

Today's economic data releases were not seen as significant market-moving events. There was a 0.3% increase in the October Producer Price Index (expectations had been for a rise of 0.5%). Core producer prices were off 0.6% in October (here, economists had been expecting a 0.1% increase). The Producer Price Index is a gauge for wholesale inflation.

In October, industrial production was up 0.1%, less than the anticipated 0.4%. The data is thus a reflection of the fact that US industrial output is not growing as fast as some had anticipated. Consensus estimates were however met for the newest data on capacity utilization which came in at 70.7%.

Showing leadership today was Dow component Microsoft. The company's stock has been on a tear over the past few weeks, today closing at an 18-month high on the heels of a brokerage upgrade which suggests good prospects for Microsoft's Windows 7 release, as well as for the holiday season. Also benefiting from an upgrade was Dow component Exxon Mobil.