The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 728 points for the week. It has closed lower every day this week and for six straight sessions and eight of the last nine.
NASDAQ is up a mere 43 points on the week, through Thursday's close while the S&P 500 is down 39 points.
Bitcoin continues to tease at the $100,000 level, having crossed that threshold for the first time on December 5, reaching a high of $103,242.
Gold and silver made large gains on Monday and Wednesday, but have been dropping like rocks since early Thursday morning. Gold peaked at $2,758 on Wednesday, but, nearing 9:00 am ET Friday morning, is trading at $2,683 on the COMEX. Silver reached $33.28 early Thursday morning, but has dropped to a low of $31.07, and continues to fall.
Anybody making sense of this should be considered a genius, an insider, or both.
Even though stocks are down generally, the decline is nothing more than a blip on the overall trajectory of the rally which began more than a year ago. Stocks have magically performed this year. The NASDAQ is up nearly 35%, the S&P has put on gains of 27%, with the Dow lagging, up a mere 16%.
Thursday's trading was the worst of the week for all the majors, but stock futures are offering a glimmer of hope for an opening to the upside. What's worrisome is the high levels that stocks have attained, despite the pullback this week, and an uncertain future, with President-Elect Trump due to be inaugurated in fewer than 40 days.
Military conflicts in the Middle East - now focused on the collapse of Syria - and Ukraine add to investor hesitancy as does the year-ending condition. Adding to or initiating positions in this envirornment almost certainly will have unforeseen consequences, manifesting themselves in the first and second quarters of 2025.
Barring a narrative that investors can easily latch on to, many are taking a wait-and-see attitude, likely the most prudent position at this uncertain juncture. Stocks may very well rally further into the year's end, but a pullback early in 2025 is an even more likely condition.
Should stocks open higher on Friday and fade throughout the session that could signal trouble ahead and spark further declines. There's also the possibility of some of the week's losses being dissolved on Friday, which would amount to more noise than signal.
Putting a wrapper on this market is an uneasy proposition. There's too much uncertainty for stocks to make general advances.
At the Close, Thursday, December 12, 2024:
Dow: 43,914.12, -234.44 (-0.53%)
NASDAQ: 19,902.84, -132.05 (-0.66%)
S&P 500: 6,051.25, -32.94 (-0.54%)
NYSE Composite: 19,769.09, -121.94 (-0.61%)
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