Friends
The market averages struggled a bit today as only the Dow was able to squeeze out a gain, buoyed by a rebound in the shares of United Healthcare. Given the strength of the recent rally in stocks, it’s not a surprise that we saw a bit of a pause in the action today. Consumer Sentiment as measured by the University of Michigan did slip in August, but July’s retails sales numbers were still healthy. Despite this being typically a bad time of the year for stocks, the bulls still are firmly entrenched on the high ground.
As for today, by the close the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 34 points to finish the day at 44,946. The S&P 500 was down 18 points to close at 6,449. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 87 points to close at 21,622. Gold was down $1 to trade at $3,382 per ounce, while oil was down $.93 to trade at $63.03 per barrel WTI.
We have the President meeting with Mr. Putin at the moment, so we’ll see if anything comes of that. Market participants will be focused on what the Fed Chair has to say next week at Jackson Hole. In the meantime, we’ll marinate a few ice cubes this weekend and be back at it next week.
Have a great weekend everyone.
