Friends
Terrorism in Barcelona, White House Intrigue, technical omens- all too much for the markets to take today. Stocks were sold at the open and things got worse as the trading session wore on. Traders have no idea what political headlines they will have to deal with on a daily basis (heck, on an hourly basis), and then you add in global terrorism and it’s not hard to see how a bit of pessimism takeover the proceedings.
By the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 274 points to finish the day at 21,750. The S&P 500 was down 38 points to close at 2,430. Gold was up $10 to trade at $1,293 per ounce, while oil was up $.25 to trade at $47.03 per barrel WTI.
We have seen a few cracks in the bull market over the past couple of weeks. To date, markets have been able to absorb any headlines, but the cumulative effect of disturbing news seems to be starting to have an effect on market participants. Will the political disarray spoil any chance of getting tax reform and infrastructure spending? Perhaps, market participants will continue to shake off negative events and push higher, but the bulls surely have to be a tad less emboldened at the moment. Stay tuned.
Have a nice evening everyone.
