Reply #5: WrapUp by Mike Hartman [View All]

Stocks and the Dollar Close Sharply Lower

Today’s sell-off in stocks was led by technology shares and expanded to nearly every sector of the market. The Dow Jones Sectors are divided into ten primary sectors with 66 sub-groups. Nine of the ten primary sectors lost ground today and of the 66 sub-groups, 58 closed with a loss. The Healthcare Index took the biggest hit for a loss of 2.9% followed by Basic Materials and Technology which dropped by just over two percent. For today’s session the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 149 points or 1.5% to close at 9,598, the NASDAQ Composite fell over 42 points or 2.2% to close at 1,898, and the S&P 500 shed 15 points or 1.5% to close at 1,030. For the last two hours the Dow struggled to hold onto the 9,600 level while the NASDAQ struggled with the 1,900 line.

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Treasuries and the Dollar

Today’s sell-off in stocks was led by technology shares and expanded to nearly every sector of the market. The Dow Jones Sectors are divided into ten primary sectors with 66 sub-groups. Nine of the ten primary sectors lost ground today and of the 66 sub-groups, 58 closed with a loss. The Healthcare Index took the biggest hit for a loss of 2.9% followed by Basic Materials and Technology which dropped by just over two percent. For today’s session the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 149 points or 1.5% to close at 9,598, the NASDAQ Composite fell over 42 points or 2.2% to close at 1,898, and the S&P 500 shed 15 points or 1.5% to close at 1,030. For the last two hours the Dow struggled to hold onto the 9,600 level while the NASDAQ struggled with the 1,900 line.

Commodities, Gold and Silver

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When it is all said and done, the lower dollar will mean less purchasing power for the money you earn. Wages will need to increase dramatically just to keep up with the falling dollar. I don’t see that happening. Unemployment is putting downward pressure on wages as can be seen by the labor strike from the grocery stores. It seems management has no desire to negotiate since they know they can hire workers for less compensation. I wonder if the striking workers know that the unemployment numbers are “massaged” to look good. I read independent reports that claim our true unemployment rate is closer to 10-11%. With that information they might have been more reluctant to go on strike. I feel bad for the workers that got locked-out, but management is trying to survive.

more to this.

Be sure to read about the misfortunes visited upon Seagate Technologies. I believe this accurately reflects the psychology of the market today.