Stocks closed mostly flat today ending what will be the worst August in 9 years. The Dow lost 451 points this month, while the S&P 500 lost 52 points. The Nasdaq lost 140 points. Today's decliners came from health-care and technology and the few winners we had came from telecoms, financials and utilities. Keep in mind, August tends to be a more volatile month because the trading volume is traditionally light. I think we expect continued volatility through the Labor Day holiday as traders, and investors return to the market and focus their attention on Q4.
Investors continued to pour money into gold through the month of August. Gold rose to a high of $1250 per ounce today and is up almost 6% for the month. Oil fell 9% for the month. Not a shocker since we can expect oil stockpiles to show a rise.
Bristol-Myers (BMY) today said they completed a study that showed a new experimental drug reduces the risk of stroke by more than half when compared with traditional aspirin therapy. I was taking a look at their chart and it's had a remarkable, but quiet run since early June. It's been trading well above it's "flash-crash" levels and has steadily maintained it's price action above it's 50 and 200-day moving averages. It's settled in a range here around $26. Given today's story, I'll keep an eye on this.
Remain cautious out there. Happy Trading!
Obligatory disclaimer: This blog is for information only. Past results do not guarantee future performance. All financial decisions involve risk and there are no guarantees. The suggestions above are for informational purposes only and the blogger is not liable for any losses incurred as a result of actual investment activity on the part of the reader.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
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