Friends
The trading session started bad and ended even worse. Stocks plummeted, bonds plummeted, gold plummeted, crypto currencies plummeted. It was not pretty. The crypto currency melt down happened mostly over the weekend and set a gloomy tone for other asset classes as we enter a week that will see a Fed meeting and an anticipated rate hike. Every tick higher in rates today seemed to send stocks lower. In the end, we officially entered bear market territory (down 20%) on the S&P 500 today, but that is in definition only. We’ve known we have been in a bear market for some time now.
By the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 876 points to finish the day at 30,516. The S&P 500 was down 151 points to close at 3,749. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 530 points to close at 10,809. Gold was down $51 to trade at $1,824 per ounce, while oil was down $.50 to trade at $120.17 per barrel WTI.
This was a total risk off day as even energy stocks, this year’s winners were down big. There really is no sugar coating it, it was a difficult day. This is a tough time for the markets and I’m not going to insult anyone’s intelligence by glossing over it. Remember we were down more than 35% in March of 2020 (just 2 years ago), and we just entered bear market territory today (down 20%). This seems more difficult because it is playing out over a longer period of time. I’ve mentioned this bear market might be more about time than price. After all is said and done, stock market averages have always recovered bear market losses and moved to new highs. How long that takes, and if the investor can take the pain, is the question. Let’s keep our heads and see how the week unfolds.
Have a nice evening everyone.
