Friends
Well, the government shutdown continues but stocks continue to try to push higher. As we mentioned, because of the shutdown, we did not receive the non-farm payroll data this morning, but as I mentioned maybe no news is good news. History has shown that short lasting government shutdowns have little effect on the markets, but the longer things remain shut down, the more chance of some economic deterioration. So, for the moment, market participants aren’t on edge.
As for today, by the close the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 238 points to finish the day at 46,758. The S&P 500 was up a fraction to close at 6,715. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 63 points to close at 22,780. Gold was up $44 to trade at $3,912 per ounce, while oil was up $.36 to trade at $60.84 per barrel WTI.
Your guess is as good as mine as to when we will next get government economic data. In the meantime, we will gear up for earnings season which will soon be upon us.
Have a great weekend everyone.
