Here are the major items influencing the broader market today –

• U.S. Steel Corp. reported earnings today that disappointed investors and sent the stock down -6.4%.  This is U.S. Steel’s 6th consecutive quarter of reported losses.  Not Good.

  While stating that end-user demand appears stable, U.S. Steel Corp. said that it was cutting back production going forward.

  This put pressure on the market, but the DOW (DJ-30) was still able to close positive for the day.

•  Consumer confidence, as measured by the Conference Board, pulled-back some more in July.  This put a damper on the market, which was already ripe for a pullback after the strong advance over the past 2 weeks.

• Apple Inc. performed well as it pushed higher in spite of the negative close for tech stocks today and the broader market.  (The SMC sent out an investment strategy to subscribers on Apple Inc. today.)

• Gold headed south further today and bond prices along with it as investors showed less enthusiasm for low risk and low return investments.
  

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