Friends
Stocks had another difficult day, as traders influenced by a somewhat disappointing ADP private payroll number, seemed uninterested in making any new purchases before Friday’s non-farm payroll number. Stocks opened lower, and just as they did yesterday spent the entire session in negative territory.
By the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 106 points to finish the day at 18,096. The S&P 500 was down 9 points to close at 2098. Gold was down $5 to trade at $1198 per ounce, while oil was up $1.26 to trade at $51.78 per barrel WTI.
The big story was the gain in the dollar, and the turnaround in oil after it had traded lower early in the session. The bounce in oil was in the face of more negative inventory news (too much oil). March is off to a sloppy start so far, perhaps because market participants are looking for something to guide them. Let’s see if Friday’s employment report gives traders some direction.
Have a nice evening everyone.
