Those days are long gone, replaced by instantaneous market reactions to social media, news reports, and associated garble that passes for journalism or analytical process. The past few weeks and months have been peppered by all manner of market-moving nonsense, from Trump's tariffs to his supposed desire to fire Jerome Powell, Chairman of the Federal Reserve.
Tuesday's trading was punctuatd by a leaked statement from Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who opined upon progress in trade negotiations, and one from the President himself, backtracking on his prior statement about Powell, saying he was happy with the Fed Chair in his present position.
No doubt there were some sharp tacks making oodles of dirty money on the massive upside, as well as on the way down on Monday, which took stocks close to their April 8 lows. All the algos do is provide neat entry and exit points for wall Street's horde of day traders and high anxiety for smaller investors who are stuck in passive funds that are forced to go with the flow rather than profit from volatility in either direction.
Thus, while Wednesday is shaping up to be a huge lift with stock futures up sharply, there's just as good a chance that the cash market will move equally in either direction, either today, tomorrow, or Friday and into next week. It's become fairly obvious that the stock market isn't for everyone, especially for those with plans that stretch out more than a few days, like the majority of 401k and IRA holders.
With stocks getting a huge boost on Tuesday, gold dropped like the heavyweight it is, breaking above $3,500 to as low as $3,304 early Wednesday morning. Seemingly unaffected by stock movement in either direction, Bitcoin has rocketed from a low of $84,500 on Sunday morning to as high as $94,261 Wednesday morning. Whether seen as a speculative investment (gamble) or an alternative to the U.S. dollar (which has been pounded lower by 10% the past six weeks), bitcoin fits the bill and has revived itself just in time to take advantage of Wild West Days on Wall Street, a carnival that's unlikely to end well for everybody.
In the real world, there are winners and losers. On Wall Street and in the crypto-verse, there apparently are only winners. Just for good measure, Trump spoke before the market open, saying, "145% is too high, it will come down substantially," speaking of the level of tariffs on Chinese imports.
Manipulated stock market volatility doesn't get any worse than this.
It's just too easy. Still a bear market, though.
At the Close, Tuesday, April 22, 2025:
Dow: 39,186.98, +1,016.57 (+2.66%)
NASDAQ: 16,300.42, +429.52 (+2.71%)
S&P 500: 5,287.76, +129.56 (+2.51%)
NYSE Composite: 18,455.14, +422.77 (+2.34%)
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment