Friends
It was a strange day for stocks. First, before the opening, the ADP private payroll number came in a bit weaker than expected which sets the stage for tomorrow’s non-farm payroll number. The consensus estimate for tomorrow is that about 175,000 new jobs were created in December. But, back to stocks, the ADP number seemed to cast a pall on the markets at the opening and stocks lingered in negative territory in early trading. After some Trump tweets and Senate hearings, stocks embarked on another leg down, sending the Dow into a triple digit loss. As the afternoon wore on, however, stocks tried to inch their way back towards positive territory.
By the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 42 points to finish the day at 19,899. The S&P 500 was down 1 point to close at 2269. Gold was up $16 to trade at $1,181 per ounce, while oil was up $.42 to trade at $53.68 per barrel WTI. Nat Gas was up $.044 to finish trading at $3.311.
As mentioned, we get the non-farm payroll number tomorrow, but the markets seem less concerned about current economic numbers, and are more focused on Mr. Trump and the political proceedings. Let’s see how the week finishes out tomorrow.
Have a nice evening everyone.
