Friends

Well, it’s the same story once again today. Oil prices spike higher; interest rates creep higher and stocks go down. The long bond at 5% really isn’t that big of a deal taken in a vacuum, but oil prices at more than $105 per barrel is a problem for the economy and for stocks. Remember, the markets are very interested to see what the Fed does tomorrow. I actually think a quarter point rate hike will encourage market participants, but we will see if that even happens.

As for today, by the close the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 328 points to finish the day at 52,092. The S&P 500 was down 34 points to close at 7,585. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 204 points to close at 25,981. Gold was down $15 to trade at $4,336 per ounce, while oil was up $4.39 to trade at $105.78 per barrel WTI.

I’m pretty sure tomorrow will be an interesting day of trading to say the least. Stay tuned.

Have a nice evening everyone.

Jim