Friends

Hop on the volatility train. Tariffs are on, tariffs are off. Stocks are down; stocks are up. This is the backdrop we will be dealing with for a while. Some feel the President uses tariff talk to supply pressure on our trading partners. Others believe that he will enact tariffs and accept the short term (or long term) pain. Whatever the case, uncertainty is difficult for stocks. We are likely to continue to see days similar to today. Stocks were down early when tariffs were on, then up in afternoon when some were delayed. Again, for long term investors it’s best to ignore the daily gyrations and stay focused. As the late great John Bogle used to say at times like this, “don’t just do something, sit there”.

As for today, by the close the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 485 points to finish the day at 43,006. The S&P 500 was up 64 points to close at 5,842. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 267 points to close at 18,552. Gold was up $10 to trade at $2,931 per ounce, while oil was down $1.89 to trade at $66.37 per barrel WTI.

We will be dealing with the concerns of an economic slowdown while all this unfolds. Of course, what role will the Fed play in the coming months is becoming less clear also. Just a month ago it was widely held that the Fed might not need to do anything at all this year. Now that is seeming less likely, but things change quickly as we know. Stay tuned.

Have a nice evening everyone.

Jim