Friends
After yesterday’s hysteria about the NASDAQ having to shut down trading for three hours, things were a bit calmer today. Stocks were able to post a second day of gains, despite an awful new home sales number this morning. Bonds actually stopped going down for ten minutes, so the bulls seemed a little more willing to nibble at some of the lower prices the market produced over the past few weeks.
By the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 46 points to finish the day back above 15,000, closing at 15,010. The S&P 500 was up 6 to close at 1663. Gold was up $25 to trade at $1396 per ounce, while oil was up $1.23 to trade at $106.25 per barrel WTI.
As the summer grinds to a close, market participants are mainly focused on the Fed’s next move. It seems obvious that the next move is tapering (lessening the amount of punch to be added to the bowl), but just when that tapering will begin remains the question. Perhaps, all this taper talk is allowing the market the chance to get used to the idea that the taper is coming. It sure can’t be a surprise to anyone. So far, August is turning out to be like a trip to the dentist (no offense to the dentists out there). Maybe the last two trading sessions will inspire the bulls to make an end of summer run. Stay tuned.
Have a great weekend everyone.
