Friends
After yesterday’s selloff, we were more than curious to see how things would unfold today. On the whole, it was a quiet day of trading with a slight bias to the upside. There was no piling on by the bears after yesterday’s decline, which was a little surprising. The bulls have to feel pretty good that despite heightened rhetoric on the geopolitical scene, and the fact that we were heading into a weekend that could produce even more headlines, the bears couldn’t break the market. Obviously, one day means little, but yesterday had put traders on notice that something might have changed in the markets.
By the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 14 points to finish the day at 21,858. The S&P 500 was up 3 points to close at 2,441. Gold was up $6 to trade at $1,297 per ounce, while oil was up $.17 to trade at 48.76 per barrel WTI.
Just a little housecleaning with regards to wrapping up earnings season. As of today 91% of the S&P 500 has reported and the year over year earnings gain was about 12.5%. 76% of the companies that reported beat on the bottom line and 69% beat on the top line. All in all, another pretty good earnings season.
Things have gotten “interesting” with regards to global conflict, but the underlying economic conditions are not too bad. Inflation is muted, employment is strong and companies are making money. It could be worse.
Have a great weekend everyone.
