Market Slides on Assassination, Oil Prices Rise
The market sold off the last hour of the day to close all three major indices well under 1%. The NASDAQ yielded the steepest losses tumbling 1.75% to 2,676.79, and both the DOW and S&P 500 finished down about 1.42%.
The big news on the day was the assassination of Pakistani opposition leader Benazir Bhutto, the Commerce Department’s durable goods orders fueled concerns about the economy, and jumping in price after inventory numbers came in lower than expected.
The assassination came via suicide bombing that not only killed the political leader but also some 19 others. This puts a lot of tension on political agendas worldwide.
Based on the weekly report, the Energy Department said oil inventories fell by 3.3 million barrels last week, more than double the 1.3 million barrel decline analysts expected. This caused oil to close 65 cents higher to settle at $96.62 a barrel, high on the day was $97.79.
Volume on the day today as a whole for the market was well below average. The NASDAQ did close though back below its 50 day moving average which is technical resistance. The S&P 500 closed back below both the 50 and 200 day averages. News wise keep don’t forget to keep an eye on the latest writedowns, Financials have a heavy weight on the S&P 500.
Pretty gnarly news about Bhutto. Apparently she was shot by the suicide bomber who then blew himself up killing 20 others. Minor black swan moment for the markets? $100 oil seems inevitable. Might as well just happen to get it over with. I don’t see it holding that level for very long unless supplies tighten up because of another refinery fire or output cut.
I think that $100 oil seems inevitable, but I do think that given today’s news, the gains today were more muted than I would have expected. I would have tought this political unrest could have pushed crude to $99 or so today alone.
Def an interesting read Blainer!