thependulumswings

Friends

Buoyed by another weak manufacturing data point and concerns that the trade deal with China will be “delayed” once again, the bears were able to add to Friday’s modest losses with a feisty selloff of the market averages. Of course, we haven’t seen very many pullbacks in recent times, so when they occur they tend to get your attention. Whether today’s move is anything to be concerned about for the bulls will only be revealed over time, but a pullback could certainly be refreshing. Of course, we all remember last December, and that was a lot more than refreshing. In fact, I could use a little less of that kind of refreshing, thank you.

By the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 268 points to finish the day at 27,783. The S&P 500 was down 27 points to close at 3,113. Gold was down $3 to trade at $1,468 per ounce, while oil was up $.76 to trade at $55.93 per barrel WTI.

Once again, given the gains stocks have seen so far in 2019, it would not be surprising to see a bit of backing and filling. We have pointed out for a couple of weeks that there appears to be a bit of a tug-of-war between those fearful of buying at all-time highs and those who have been somewhat left behind this year and are fearful of missing out on more gains. This should be an interesting week for the markets. Remember, impeachment proceedings will also be part of the equation. Stay tuned, we’ll keep you informed as the week unfolds.

Have a nice evening everyone.

Jim