Friends
The bulls and the bears wrestled each other to the ground by the close of today’s final trading session of the quarter. After yesterday’s rally, the bulls failed to hold serve and the bears beat those market averages back into to neutral territory for the quarter. When all was said and done, the S&P was able to squeak out a modest gain for the quarter, but the Dow ended in negative territory. The sloppiness of the first quarter was not a real surprise, as we’ve expected disruption given the possible change of course by the Fed, and the deflationary pressures around the world.
As for today, by the close the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 200 points to finish the day at 17,776. The S&P 500 was down 18 points to close at 2067. Gold was down $1 to trade at $1183 per ounce, while oil was down $1.24 to trade at $47.44 per barrel WTI.
So basically, the markets treaded water for the last three months, while earnings estimates have been reduced and growth prospects questioned. We know the Fed desperately wants to raise the Fed Funds rate (if nothing else, to show that they can), but given the economic environment, will they actually be able to do so? As we enter the second quarter of the year, the markets appear to lack a sense of direction. Let’s see how long that lasts.
Have a nice evening everyone.
