Dow Overcomes the Negatives

Tuesday was reversal day. And, like driving the switchbacks on a mountainous pass, every turn brought a new perspective on the markets.

Thai regulators imposed currency controls on international investors but then reversed them after watching their benchmark SET Index tank by 15%. The U.S. bond market sold off on the release of December's producer price index but then reversed course when traders took a second look and found the data flawed, only to reverse again on the hawkish words of a Fed president. The stock market opened in the red, reacting in part to the inflation data, memories of the Asian contagion of 1997-98, mixed housing data and disappointing quarterly results from Circuit City (CC Quote), Oracle (ORCL Quote) and Hovnanian (HOV Quote).

But stocks reversed course, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average ended at a record high, up 0.2% at 12471.32, while the S&P 500 finished up 0.2%, closing at 1425.55. The S&P was aided by strength in energy stocks such as Marathon Oil (MRO Quote), which rallied as oil (ta-da!) reversed early weakness to close up 94 cents at $63.15.

The Nasdaq Composite ended the day down 0.3% to close at 2429.55, under pressure after Oracle slipped 4.5% on its earnings that merely met analyst expectations. Shares of the semiconductor stocks were also down Tuesday. The Merrill Lynch Semiconductor HOLDR(SMH Quote) exchange traded fund slipped 1.5%.