Friends
While the economy keeps displaying signs of strength, interest rates continue to rise – so much so that it finally got the attention of the stock market. At its worst today, the Dow was down more than 350 points, but as the afternoon wore on, stocks were able to erase some of the losses. Just as rallies failed in Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday’s sessions, today the selloff “failed”. Change of direction seems to be the theme for the week. Nevertheless, stocks endured a difficult session.
By the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 200 points to finish the day at 26,627. The S&P 500 was down 23 points to close at 2,901. Gold was little changed trading at $1,203 per ounce, while oil was down $1.97 to trade at $74.44 per barrel WTI. The 10-year Treasury Note’s yield rose to 3.19%.
Let’s see if tomorrow’s non-farm payroll number adds to the parade of good economic news we have seen in recent weeks. Remember, the guestimate is that 180,000 new jobs were created in September, and perhaps even more important that average hourly wages rose .3% for the month. Anything hotter than that might send interest rates higher once again, and could put pressure on stocks. Let’s see how the week finishes up tomorrow.
Have a nice evening everyone.
