When CME Group first announced that it would take a majority stake in Dow Jones Indexes a year ago my first thought was to ask if there would be any antitrust issues as CME Group has exclusive licenses with Standard & poor’s (a competitor to Dow Jones Indexes) to list futures products on its S&P 500 index as well as others. Neither Dow Jones Indexes nor CME Group seemed to worry it was an issue at the time. (more…)
As some of the first wire stories on Thursday’s market plunge began to come across my desk I was struck by one in particular. The headline said, “Geithner stays and the market tanks”.
I have to admit I found that amusing. You see, I had just posted a chart on our web site indicating how some significant technical support areas had been breached on the Dow Jones Industrial Average. I had been having a conversation with one of our contributors about this and he had indicated earlier in the week that the market could be facing a turning point.
As our political leaders were patting themselves on the back for averting a crisis — albeit with both sides of the debate frustrated they didn’t get everything they wanted, even those who got almost everything — a strange thing was happening in the markets. Equity indexes continued to tank.
Perhaps some analysts and pundits breathed a big sigh of relief when equities rebounded after a huger sell-off on Wednesday to close higher. No relief was in sight today as the Dow dropped more than 500 points and the S&P 500 dropped 55 pushing both indexes into the red for 2011. (more…)
Looking for certainty in the direction of financial and commodities markets? Now is probably not the time. That was the overriding theme from today’s webinar on the third quarter market outlook by Darin Newsom, senior analyst at Telvent DTN. “‘Flux’ is the best word to describe these markets,” Newsom said. “These markets can change on a moment’s notice.” For the Dow Jones Industrial Average, Newsom said the long-term trend remains down while the short-term trend is uncertain. “I’m basically flat this market. It’s difficult to read and I’m getting mixed signals.” (more…)
Thursday May 6 was an odd day in the markets but perhaps not as odd as some may suspect. We pointed out a week earlier how the Dow Jones was pushing some pretty significant resistance, the 61.8% retracement level of the move from the 2007 high to the March 2009 low. The Dow touched that level and failed at the end of April (see chart below).
Add to that an odd consensus between bears and bulls of a significant downturn. Many bears were thinking we were at a historic high and ready for a reversal as the economy is poised for a double dip recession. Many bulls, realizing the market cannot go up forever and seeing that the S&P 500 rallied more than 80% from the March 2009 lows, were expecting a correction, a significant correction of at least 10%. (more…)
Do you feel the recovery? The markets did on Thursday as word that the economy grew by 3.5% in the third quarter led to a 200-point rally in the Dow Jones Industrial Average Index.
However those gains were lost and then some on Friday as the Dow dropped 225 points. And it could have been more than simple buy the rumor sell the fact activity.
When the Dow Jones Industrial Average hit 10,000 for the first time in March 1999, I was standing on the financial floor of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. A large roar of approval rose from the traders as the Dow hit that historic and unprecedented benchmark.
Attention K-mart shoppers…pop quiz. Today 99 cents could buy you a) something tacky from the dollar store or b) one share of Citigroup? If you answered c) all of the above, you’re right! Citi actually closed out at $1.02, so add a few more cents and a share of the troubled investment bank could be yours tomorrow.
The market in general also tanked again today, with U.S. stock indexes finishing down 4%. Earlier this week the Dow hit its lowest level since 1997. With market performances like that, it could be time for everyone to start hitting the dollar store. Or the bottle.
The verdict for the new bailout plan is in, and it stinks. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner announced the new $1.5 trillion financial rescue plan this morning, and the Dow Industrials promptly dropped 300 points. The Senate then approved the stimulus plan by a vote of 61 to 37. The massive market sell-off continued throughout the day, with stock indexes dropping 4-5% after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke discussed economic rescue plans with the House of Representatives, according to Market Watch. Headed into the close, the Dow was hovering around 7,800. Ouch.
World’s most famous groundhog Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow today, forecasting six more weeks of winter. As we said on Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average is in a deep freeze of its own. It traded in negative territory for 93 percent of the day on Friday, according to Dow Jones.The Dow also logged its worst January performance in its 113-year history in 2008 and in January had its biggest monthly point and percentage drop since October 2008.
