Friends
September is living up to its reputation. At the lows today, the S&P 500 was down almost exactly 10% off the highs set a few weeks ago. We did bounce off that level, but it was a difficult day for most stocks. After word of Justice Ginsburg’s death and the almost immediate bickering by both parties, any additional stimulus deal seems very unlikely to get done before the election. That, and weakness overseas deriving from increases in Covid19 cases abroad sent stocks tumbling in early trading. As mentioned, we did recover some from the early morning lows, but the damage was done. Interestingly, the “stay at home” trade actually worked today with names like Peloton, Roku and PayPal rallying.
By the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 509 points to finish the day at 27,147. The S&P 500 was down 38 points to close at 3,281. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 14 points to close at 10,778. Gold was down $45 to trade at $1,917 per ounce, while oil was down $1.58 to trade at $39.53 per barrel WTI.
So, with there being little chance of a stimulus deal before the election, it’s difficult to see where the next bullish catalyst would come from. Yes, we could get a medical breakthrough at any time, but it appears we are weeks or months away from that. So, buckle up as it appears that we have boarded a rudderless ship that may drift into some trouble over the next several weeks. But, with interest at zero for the foreseeable future… well you know the story.
Have a nice evening everyone.
Jim
