Today felt like the hangover after the big upside party yesterday. The DOW lost 100 points, the S&P 500 dropped 6, and the NASDAQ fell 10 by the closing bell. The Russell 2000 Index finished higher by 5 points today.
The DOW was hurt by declines in WMT (after its all-time peak yesterday), the financials, KO, MCD and UTX. VZ, which has been awful lately, climbed 1.4% to 45.42. The NASDAQ was not able to hold onto small gains courtesy of PCLN and TSLA.
Despite the ease in which the tax reform bill rushed through the House, the Senate passing could be a different story. It is likely that this bill is going to be rejected in the upper chamber. This may well be what the market is perceiving…as the S&P and DOW finished lower for the second consecutive week.
The 10-year Treasury Note was down to 2.34% while the 2-year was at 1.72%. The yield curve is now at .62%, the lowest in 10 years. The dollar was weaker with the Euro at 1.18 and the Japanese yen was stronger at 112 to the dollar. Gold was higher to $1,294 in part due to the renewed tensions with North Korea. Crude oil was higher at $56.77 after three lower days.
Donald M. Selkin
These are excerpts from Don Selkin’s Daily Market Notes, abbreviated and updated with permission from the author. Don Selkin is the Chief Market Strategist at Newbridge Securities Corporation, member FINRA/SIPC and provides the Fair Value analysis for CNBC each morning. The commentary provided in this Market Letter is intended to provide timely market analysis and should not be considered a research report. This Market Letter may contain, and is limited to: Discussions of broad based indices; Commentaries on economic, political or market conditions; Technical analyses concerning the demand and supply for a sector, index or industry based in trading volume and price; Statistical summaries of multiple companies’ financial data, including listings of current ratings; and, Recommendations regarding increasing or decreasing holdings in particular industries or securities. This Market Letter does not make a financial or investment recommendation or otherwise promotes a product or service of the firm. This Market Letter contains only news, facts, and commentary on information previously reported from a news source believed to be accurate and reliable by the author. These news sources include the following: Bloomberg Financial, Reuters, and the Associated Press.