After a weak attempt at a morning rally, stocks were overwhelmed & suffered major losses. Dow declined 166 to 11,215, many call that official bearish territory. NYSE volume was 1.4B, a little lower than the last couple of days but it was considered routine last year. Decliners were ahead of advancers 5-2 and NAZ was down a big 53. The S&P 500 closed at 1261, below the 1270 line, many consider another signal of a bear market. There were all kinds of gloomy news on what should have been a quiet holiday kind of day for trading. No surprise that oil reached another record, above 144. General Motors (GM), a Dow stock, plunged 15% giving up yesterday's gains so it could become a $10 stock (I repeat, TEN DOLLARS). Henry Paulson, Sec of Treasury, said the housing crisis & credit crunch have a ways to go.
I don''t know but it's like the economy is fighting significant headwinds. There was talk about the relatively good US retail sales for May. The problem is that they were aided by tax rebate checks & used to largely purchase food & energy. Those tax rebate checks are ending, with no additional stimulus but higher prices & higher unemployment are expected to drag on. Unemployment figures & the decision by the European Central Bank in raising its rates will be major tomorrow. Let's see what they bring in just ½ day.
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