Friends
Stocks were once again confounding the bears after another early morning selloff was erased with a late morning rally. The market averages then drifted aimlessly for several hours before another report (I know, I know) indicated that talks with China have stalled once again. Look, traders can attempt to trade these endless headlines, but investors simply must ignore them. Investors should know there appetite for volatility (our term for what most refer to as risk), allocate accordingly, and the rest is just noise.
As for today, by the close the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 99 points to finish the day at 25,763. The S&P 500 was down 16 points to close at 2,859. Gold was down $9 to trade at $1,277 per ounce, while oi was down $.15 to trade at $62.72 per barrel WTI.
There are so many crosscurrents for market participants to deal with at the moment. The economy is sending mixed signals, global growth is challenged, trade wars are brewing, but the Fed is certainly on hold for the foreseeable future (no rate hikes that is). Valuation is ok, but if earnings do slip throughout the year then valuations are a bit expensive. On the other hand, if interest rates remain as low as they have fallen this week, then investors may look to stocks as the only alternative to low rates. As I said, there is a lot of stuff for investors to chew on.
Have a great weekend everyone.
