Friends
The Dow Jones Industrial Average masked a very weak day for stocks. On the economic front, housing starts, as expected were down, and consumer sentiment slipped in December, but industrial production was encouraging. Once again, mixed results. Speaking of mixed results, corporate earnings have been just that-mixed. Those companies missing consensus estimates or guiding lower for the future are being punished mercilessly. Companies delivering good results are doing better, but not as well as in previous quarters. We hit full stride for earnings next week, so we’ll see if this mixed picture continues.
For the day, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 41 points to close at 16,458. The S&P 500 was down 7 points to finish the day at 1838. Gold was up $12 to trade at $1252 per ounce, while oil was up $.19 to trade at $94.15 per barrel WTI. The averages were somewhat flat for the week, but internally things looked a little worse than that.
Remember, markets are closed on Monday for the Martin Luther King holiday. We’ll be back at it on Tuesday.
Have a great weekend everyone.
