riends
After a difficult September, October began with such promise. But, once all was said and done, October turned out to be the worst month for stocks since March. Over the last couple of weeks, the rise of Covid-19 cases, the lack of a stimulus deal, and the uncertainty of next week’s election was just too much of a headwind for stocks to ignore. There were headlines stating that big tech earnings from Apple, Amazon, Google and Facebook were disappointing. Well, that is really kind of silly. The earnings reports from these behemoths were actually amazingly good. What was the case, as we pointed out yesterday, is that these stocks have had a remarkable run and their prices had already more than priced in these good earnings reports. It’s nothing new, as it happens all the time. Stock prices get ahead of the fundamentals. It doesn’t mean the fundamentals were bad.
As for the market averages, by the close the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 157 points to finish the day at 26,501. The S&P 500 was down 40 points to close at 3,270. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 274 points to close at 10,911. Gold was up $11 to trade at $1,879 per ounce, while oil was down $.72 to trade at $35.45 per barrel WTI.
Well, this coming Tuesday is the election. Will we have a winner by the end of the day? Have the markets priced in who the winner will be? Of course, the furor over the rise of Covid-19 cases will likely continue to be on the minds of market participants. Are we headed for more shutdowns? If the pharmaceutical companies have success with therapeutics and vaccines will we turn the corner and explode into the New Year? Let me know if you have any of the answers to these questions. I’m going to get some rest, marinate some ice cubes and get ready for what is sure to be an interesting week ahead.
Have a great weekend everyone.
