Written by Gary
Midday Market Commentary For 08-26-2013
Stocks gave up their modest gains and turned lower as Secretary of State John Kerry calls out the Syrian regime for using chemical weapons. Kerry suggests “The U.S. response may be more than tough words”. As I mentioned in my midday report, ‘Western interdiction into Syria could be a ‘Black Swan’ of sorts and put the markets in a tailspin’ and it almost did.
By 4 pm the averages had dropped almost a half point which could be the start of something even more sinister.
Then again every bit of bad financial bad news over the past week, including this mornings poor Durable Goods, has driven the averages upward. If that premise holds true then we should see an 800 point rise in the DOW tomorrow – just kidding. Now is NOT the time to start guessing, keep your hands in your pockets (and around your wallet) for the time being.
Market Close: The War Rotation
All was well in the world early on. Dismal durable goods orders were terrible enough to provide the index-watching-muppets with the bad-news-that-is-good-news to pump stocks higher.
Other markets reacted in a pro-Taper-off mode (aside from Gold and silver which were man-handled back down from the $1,400 level). Volume is/was terrible in stocks but they clung to earlier highs as homebuilders surged (seeming to ignore Friday’s data entirely).
Then Kerry spoke… first WTI broke higher (catching up Brent), then gold (and silver), the USD sold off (as JPY strengthened as a million carry traders were suddenly silenced), and US equity markets fell out of bed with a thump.
The DOW lost [the] 15,000 [level]; S&P futures tested down to their 50DMA; gold traded up to $1,403; silver well over $24; VIX snapped 1 vol higher to 15.0%; and AAPL tumbled from early highs (holding above $500 though).
An ugly close at the lows of the day for stocks…
The DOW at 4:00 is at 14946 down 64 or -0.43%.
The SP500 is at 1657 down 6.72 or -0.40%.
SPY is at 167.09 down 0.46 or -0.40%. (Continuing to sell off, slightly, after the close)
The $RUT is at 1038 up 0.23 or 0.02%.
NASDAQ is at 3657 down 0.22 or -0.01%.
NASDAQ 100 is at 3123 down 1.60 or -0.05%.
The longer trend is up, the past months trend is bullish, the past 5 sessions have been neutral and the current bias is bearish.
WTI oil is trading between 107.06 and 105.59 today. The session bias is positive and is currently trading up at 106.22.
Brent Crude is trading between 110.51 and 111.33 today. The session bias is positive and is currently trading up at 111.10.
Gold fell from 1403.42 to 1359.52 earlier and is currently trading down at 1403.30.
Here’s why copper has lost its indicator role
Dr. Copper is at 3.328 plunging from 3.395 earlier.
The US dollar is trading between 81.30 and 81.55 and is currently trading up at 81.42, the bias is currently sideways with a positive slant.
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Written by Gary
