Another September 11th has come and gone. President Obama has articulated a “strategy” for dealing with ISIS. The Federal Reserve has the monetary situation and the economy under control. Stocks are near all-time highs. The prices of gold and oil are falling. What could possibly go wrong?
Monday, stocks did little in Asia but fell in Europe 0.4% and 0.6% in the U.S. on low volume. Precious metals fell over 1% while their miners dropped about 3%. Tuesday, stocks fell in Asia slightly, in Europe 0.4%, and in the U.S. 0.6% on low volume as the VXO shot up over 10% to close at 11.80 and the S&P 500 index broke far below the 2000 level again. Here’s an interesting article on investing pitfalls.
Wednesday, in Asia stocks fell 1.1% but in Europe they closed almost unchanged. In the U.S., stocks rose 0.4% on low volume in anticipation of September 11th and President Obama’s speech. Thursday, Asian stocks closed nearly unchanged and stocks in Europe changed little. In the U.S. stocks closed nearly unchanged on very low volume. Friday, stocks in Asia and Europe closed nearly unchanged while stocks fell 0.6% dragging the Dow Jones Industrial Average below the 17,000 mark on low volume and posting a negative week for stocks.