Friends

Stocks got off to a great start for the week as traders were encouraged to hear the President soften his stance on upcoming tariffs. Of course, this is a very fluid situation and can change from moment to moment. But market participants were looking for a reason to do some buying and today they got enough of one to do some stock shopping.

By the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 597 points to finish the day at 42,583. The S&P 500 was up 100 points to close at 5,767. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 404 points to close at 18,188. Gold was down $8 to trade at $3.012 per ounce, while oil was up $.92 to trade at $69.20 per barrel WTI.

We are likely to continue to see a lot of volatility in the markets but as I noted last week, it’s good to see some up days and remember that there are still animal spirits alive and well out there. Let’s see how this final stretch of the first quarter plays out. Stay tuned.

Have a nice evening everyone.

Jim