Friends
Traders seemed focused today on the political wrangling out of Washington. With the threat of a government shutdown looming (whether that’s a good thing or not, insert your own joke here), market participants seemed to just want to get out of the way, as buyers were nowhere to be found. Now, we’ve seen this situation before, as we remember the end of last year’s political gymnastics, and subsequent “kick the can down the road” that had investors cowering in fear, only to be caught flat footed when stocks exploded to the upside in early January. How this one will work itself out is anyone’s guess, but one’s long term investment objectives should not be altered by the short term craziness that politicians can cause. Indeed, price disruption can create opportunity.
As for today, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 70 points to finish the day at 15,257. The S&P 500 was down 6 points to close at 1691. Gold was up $13 to trade at $1337.30 per ounce, while oil was up/down $.36 to trade at $102.68 per barrel WTI.
Monday marks the end of trading for the quarter, and combined with the political showdown, stock prices could be volatile. Of course, next week we’ll get the employment picture for September and the following week we’ll kick off earnings season. There should be some interesting days ahead. Stay tuned, we’ll keep you informed and be on the lookout for opportunities.
Have a great weekend everyone.
