Friends
The growth story came under some serious scrutiny today. We suspected after recent consumer confidence numbers that the retail sales numbers were going to slump a bit and today’s release indicated that is exactly what has happened. We also suspected that earnings from major retailers would be good and today’s releases from Home Depot and Walmart were stellar. But fear that the benefits that Home Depot received from the DIY craze is waning, sent the shares of the retailer tumbling (we also thought that was at least possible if not likely). Walmart shares on the other hand really had not done much up until the last week or so, and its shares held serve today.
As for the overall averages, stocks dropped once again as mentioned on fears that the growth story might be in jeopardy. Of course the Delta variant is what everyone is watching. As for today, by the close the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 282 points (after being down more than 500 earlier in the day) to finish the day at 35,343. The S&P 500 was down 31 points to close at 4,448. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 137 points to close at 14,656. Gold was down $4 to trade at $1,785 per ounce, while oil was down $.52 to trade at $66.77 per barrel WTI.
We’ll watch as more earnings from retailers will be released during the week. It’s been a long time since we have had a pullback of any type in the stock market, so it is certainly no surprise that market participants are watching this move closely. We’ll keep you posted.
Have a nice evening everyone.
