Friends
Well, the Friday after Thanksgiving is typically very quiet. But with news that a new Covid-19 variant is rearing its ugly head in Africa, markets were in disarray. It’s likely that given that many traders are out until Monday, today’s moves were driven by algorithms and skeletal crews. Stocks plummeted, bond prices spiked (rates down), cryptos collapsed and oil prices, which barely moved on the strategic reserve release announcement, fell more than 10%. It seems that a new Covid variant is what was really needed to bring oil prices down.
By the close the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 905 points to finish the day at 34,899. The S&P 500 was down 106 points to close at 4,594. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 353 points to close at 15,491. Gold was up $1 to trade at $1,785 per ounce, while the aforementioned oil was down $9.71 to trade at $68.68 per barrel WTI.
I was hoping not to have to do an email today, but today’s events warranted one. Will market participants see today’s selloff as an opportunity, Black Friday specials if you will, or will Covid worries be the dominant theme, replacing inflation and rising interest rates, as we move towards year end? We’ll be here Monday to let you know how the week begins.
Have a great weekend everyone.
