Friends
You know the old saying. It doesn’t matter until it does. Markets seemed to be handling the Korean nuclear war threat rather well until today. President Trump’s tough talk added to the stress level this afternoon, and the market averages added to losses that they were already experiencing in earlier trading. Is the current geopolitical tension giving overpriced markets a reason to sell off some? Sure. There have been endless calls for the market to turn down, but the bears couldn’t seem to find a catalyst. Perhaps they have one now.
For the day, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 204 points to close at 21,844. The S&P 500 was down 35 points to finish the day at 2,438. Gold was up $12 to trade at $1,291 per ounce, while oil was down $1.08 to trade at $48.48 per barrel WTI.
As expected earnings from the likes of Kohls, Dillards and Macy’s were challenged, and the shares of these companies did sell off (but most everything sold off today). One day does not a market make, but the bulls have to be a little concerned that headlines and geopolitical events might finally start to weigh on the bullish thesis. Let’s see how the week finishes out tomorrow.
Have a nice evening everyone.
