Friends
I’ve watched Larry Kudlow on television now for decades and he seems like a very nice man, so I’m not going to blame today’s selloff in stocks on the fact the he was named head of the President’s Economic Council to replace Gary Cohn. On the contrary his views and opinions should be welcomed by Wall Street, as Larry is a free trader at heart, a rabid supply sider, and a great supporter of the President’s tax cuts. More likely, today’s weakness is the result of more protectionism rhetoric and trade war concerns. On the economic front, the PPI number was slightly hotter than expected, but the retail sales number was somewhat anemic.
As for the markets, by the close the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 248 points to finish the day at 24,758. The S&P 500 was down 15 points to close 2,749. Gold was down $1 trade at $1,325 per ounce, while oil was down $.18 to trade at $60.89 per barrel WTI.
It’s been quite a roller coaster ride so far in 2018. Just when you think things are going one way, they reverse course. Headlines come at market participants on an hourly basis nowadays. Indeed, volatility is back, but the good news is that out of volatility often comes opportunity. Let’s see how the rest of the week works out.
Have a nice evening everyone.
