Friends
The “worst” week of the year (and first down week of the year) really did not end up being too bad. With all the concern over slowing global growth, led by a slowdown in China, the mood was sour most of the week, but in the end the averages really did not suffer that much damage. For the day, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 34 points to close at 13,080. The Dow had a fall of about 1% for the week. The S&P 500 was up 4 points to finish the day at 1397. The S&P had about ½% loss for the week. Gold was up $20 to close at $1662 per ounce and oil was up $1.50 to finish the day trading near $106.85 per barrel WTI.
It would have been nice to see the S&P 500 hold the 1400 level, but in the end it was probably close enough. The Dow was able to hold the 13,000 level and that is a psychological area that would be good to stay above. With one week left in the quarter, it will be interesting to see what traders are inclined to do next week. Many managers will be trying to play catch up, and others will be trying to protect first quarter profits.
We’ll keep an eye on the plentiful amount of economic reports we get next week, and keep an eye out for any profit warnings from Corporate America. Again, with one week left in the quarter, it has been a good start to the year. Can we keep it up?
Have a nice weekend everyone.
