Friends
It appears that market participants wanted to take some profits after another good month for stocks and before a 3-day weekend. We did get the Core PCE number today, a key inflation measure, and it showed an increase of 2.9% which was in line with expectations but still a lot hotter than the Fed would like to see. I don’t think it will be enough to deter them from a rate cut in September, but it doesn’t help.
As for today, by the close the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 92 points to finish the day at 45,544. The S&P 500 was down 41 points to close at 6,460. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 249 points to close at 21,455. Gold was up $39 to trade at $3,513 per ounce, while oil was down $.65 to trade at 63.95 per barrel WTI.
As mentioned, it was another good month for stocks. That makes four in a row for those of you who are counting. Anyway, as we enter September the bulls are firmly entrenched on the high ground, while the bears continue to look for an opening. We’ll be back with you on Tuesday.
For now, I hope everyone has a great Labor Day weekend.
