(As of 7:08 am PST)
Stocks opened lower today after enjoying some slight
gains yesterday. Economic data is light
although a report on consumer spending showed spending rose 0.3% in August (the
third fastest increase of the year) and July spending was revised upward. The main story continues to be the debt
showdown in Washington. A possible
government shutdown as a result of not raising the debt ceiling is the biggest
concern on investor minds. The nation is
scheduled to reach its debt ceiling on October 17, and thus unable
to pay its bills, unless congress can come to an agreement to raise it by
Monday’s deadline. Compared to the debt
ceiling debate in 2011 which saw volatility soar, it’s been a relatively calm
market during these budget negotiations.
Volatility is picking up today, however, with the VIX trading up
6%. Expect volatility to pick up as the
day progresses and uncertainty weighs on investor minds going into the
weekend. In other news, gold is higher
by 1% and interest rates are lower with the 10 yr. treasury yielding
2.62%. Asia finished trading mixed and
Europe is following US markets lower. The
‘come up for air’ yesterday may be short-lived as market momentum is to the
downside today.
No comments:
Post a Comment