Friends
The last trading day of the year is typically pretty dull. Not today. As rumors and reports of a “fiscal cliff” deal bombarded traders, stocks gyrated back and forth in wild fashion. As of this writing, it looks like some sort of deal has been agreed to, and the markets initial reaction is positive, but of course all the votes have not been counted. In a year that has been dominated by central bankers and politicians, it seems about right that the last day of the year is no different.
By the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 166 points to finish the year at 13,104. The S&P 500 was up 23 points to finish the year at 1426. Gold was up $18 to trade at $1674 per ounce, while oil was up $.88 to trade at $91.68 per barrel WTI. The bulls have to be encouraged that the S&P finished the year comfortably above the 1400 level and the Dow cleared the 13,000 level, but of course as I mentioned before, bills still have to be passed and signed. If this deal would fall through, rest assured, prices will be different on Wednesday morning.
I would like to take a moment to wish everyone a safe and happy New Year. We thank you for entrusting us to manage your money, and as you know we take that responsibility very serious and we are very appreciative. We will have our first quarter 2013 outlook ready by next week, so be sure to look for it. Of course for clients, we will include it in your quarterly summary statement.
If you’re heading out tonight, be very careful and once again Happy New Year to everyone.
