Friends
Stocks drifted aimlessly in negative territory for the entire trading session today, and considering that we had more stress in China overnight that really wasn’t too bad. Walmart’s terrible earnings report didn’t help, but at least Home Depot’s good report (both stocks are in the Dow) did help to offset it. On the economic front building permits were down in July, as housing starts were the only economic data point we had this morning.
By the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 33 points to finish the day at 17,511. The S&P 500 was down 5 points to close at 2096. Gold was down $2 to trade at $1116 per ounce, while oil was up $.56 to trade at $42.43 per barrel WTI.
Tomorrow we get the FOMC minutes and the CPI, so traders will have plenty to chew on as they try to decipher whether the Fed will be looking to raise rates next month. We’ll let you know how the markets react.
Have a nice evening everyone.
