After nearly three weeks of relentless declines, US markets perked up to open the week of trading, posting one of the top five gainers of the year.
Catalyst for the day-long progression higher was nothing other than naked speculation on a "buy the dip" fantasy, as the major indices had been beaten down by roughly 7-8% and many stocks hammered down 10-15& since May 1. Traders saw the opportunity for a bounce and they got what they bargained for, due almost entirely to valuation and little else.
The situation in Europe, especially regarding Greece, remains far from resolution, and the G8 meeting, held over the weekend at Camp David, outside Washington, DC, offered a statement that was long on identifying issues but short on solutions. In fact, the statement released for public consumption carried forty paragraphs, mostly gilded in terminology like the commitment to "take all necessary steps to strengthen and reinvigorate our economies and combat financial stresses," and similar non-committal phrases.
One wonders why such meetings of world leaders are even held except to fete the participants on pate de foie gras and roast pheasant. Ostensibly, such confabs do nothing but solidify ties between the various bankrupt, free-spending governments and boost the general propaganda about the world's financial and political condition. Ostensibly, these G8, G10, G20 and Gee, I don't know soirees probably are optically better than the same participants getting together for a round of golf or an afternoon of croquet, tea and biscuits.
Other than the magnificent ramp-job by the re-programmed computer traders, the story of the moment continues to be the Facebook (FB) IPO fiasco, in which computer problems were finally revealed by NASDAQ which caused order and confirmation delays and cost some investors hundreds of thousands and had market makers like Knight and others trading positions the opposite from what they had originally intended.
At the end of the day, it was nothing other than the irresponsibility of the NASDAQ to proceed with the highly-anticipated IPO, when they knew problems were arising from a multitude of HFT participants who were variously long and short within milliseconds of the stock's opening.
The untenable situation worsened at the pre-open and into the opening of regular trading as the stock fell below the original offer price of 38.00, defended vigorously by the underwriters at the close of trading on Friday, but capitulation ensued Monday, with share prices falling under the IPO price at the open without recovering, closing the day at 34.03, down 4.20, an 11% loss.
In any case, today saw TEOTWAWKI (the end of the world as we know it) delayed, no thanks to world leaders, who seem to have less grasp on economic issues than they do their own futures.
Free houses for everyone!
Dow 12,504.48, -135.10 (1.09%)
NASDAQ 2,847.21, -68.42 (2.46%)
S&P 500 1,315.99, -20.77 (1.60%)
NYSE Composite 7,542.88, -115.14 (1.55%)
NASDAQ Volume 1,788,066,375
NYSE Volume 3,738,396,750
Combined NYSE & NASDAQ Advance - Decline: 4602-1024
Combined NYSE & NASDAQ New highs - New lows: 35-180
WTI crude oil: 92.57, +1.09
Gold: 1,588.70, -3.20
Silver: 28.32, -0.39
Showing posts with label G8. Show all posts
Showing posts with label G8. Show all posts
Monday, May 21, 2012
Friday, May 18, 2012
Stocks Smashed Again; Facebook Flops on IPO
For three weeks running, it's been the same story: stocks down, and today's malaise was particularly embarrassing to the NASDAQ and to the underwriters of the Facebook (FB - which should stand for Fail Badly) on a Friday that most traders would likely rather forget.
The Dow Jones industrials closed down for the 12th time in the last 13 sessions, while the S&P and NASDAQ recorded their 10th down day in the last 12. All of the major averages finished in the red every day this week an occurrence so unique that barely a broker or trader can recall the last time it happened. Even on major declines, there's usually a day or two of snap-back rallies, but the current condition is such that all confidence is being shattered as events unfold without a whimper of defiance from the usual monied or political oligarchs.
For the week, the Dow lost a cumulative 451 points, easily the worst performance of the year; ditto for the S&P and NASDAQ, which lost, respectively, 52 and 155 points, while the NYSE Composite shed 388, the broadest measure taking the worst percentage loss.
As for the Facebook IPO, which priced Thursday night at a robust $38 per share, finished the day ahead a measly 23 cents, one of the poorest showings ever for a major tech stock right out of the box. The trading, which was supposed to have begun at 11:00 am EDT, didn't open until after 11:30, the culprit being the usual "system glitches." Traders reported throughout the day that they were not receiving confirmations of their orders, the earliest of which had bought in at levels of 41 and 42 dollars per share, and were, thus, stuck at whatever price they placed their orders. It was a complete embarrassment for all parties - the company, the underwriters and the NASDAQ - though it's almost certain that newly-minted billionaire Mark Zuckerberg will lose little sleep over today's fiasco.
All told, the week, and especially the last two days, have been particularly painful for all involved, though gold and silver investors have enjoyed two consecutive days of gains after prolonged weakness. With precious metals beginning to show strength again, the dynamics of a failing global economy based on fiat dollars are showing their true colors.
Over the weekend, members of the G8 will be meeting at Camp David, purportedly to issue some kind of proclamation that all is well, or, ostensibly, to hammer out some new paradigm for global economic salvation. With any luck, they'll all agree to go home and do nothing, something for which they're all well trained.
In European news, the woes for the Southern states continued as Moody's downgraded 16 of the nation's banks and Fitch cut Greece's banks to CCC (big surprise there).
The weekend at hand, two words known well to hoarders of gold and silver: keep stacking.
Dow 12,369.38, -73.11 (0.59%)
NASDAQ 2,778.79, -34.90 (1.24%)
S&P 500 1,295.22, -9.64 (0.74%)
NYSE Composite 7,413.01, -67.42 (0.90%)
NASDAQ Volume 2,571,980,000
NYSE Volume 4,450,551,500
Combined NYSE & NASDAQ Advance - Decline: 1470-4143
Combined NYSE & NASDAQ New highs - New lows: 22-345 (worst since March of '09)
WTI crude oil: 91.48, -1.08
Gold: 1,591.90, +17.00
Silver: 28.72, +0.70
The Dow Jones industrials closed down for the 12th time in the last 13 sessions, while the S&P and NASDAQ recorded their 10th down day in the last 12. All of the major averages finished in the red every day this week an occurrence so unique that barely a broker or trader can recall the last time it happened. Even on major declines, there's usually a day or two of snap-back rallies, but the current condition is such that all confidence is being shattered as events unfold without a whimper of defiance from the usual monied or political oligarchs.
For the week, the Dow lost a cumulative 451 points, easily the worst performance of the year; ditto for the S&P and NASDAQ, which lost, respectively, 52 and 155 points, while the NYSE Composite shed 388, the broadest measure taking the worst percentage loss.
As for the Facebook IPO, which priced Thursday night at a robust $38 per share, finished the day ahead a measly 23 cents, one of the poorest showings ever for a major tech stock right out of the box. The trading, which was supposed to have begun at 11:00 am EDT, didn't open until after 11:30, the culprit being the usual "system glitches." Traders reported throughout the day that they were not receiving confirmations of their orders, the earliest of which had bought in at levels of 41 and 42 dollars per share, and were, thus, stuck at whatever price they placed their orders. It was a complete embarrassment for all parties - the company, the underwriters and the NASDAQ - though it's almost certain that newly-minted billionaire Mark Zuckerberg will lose little sleep over today's fiasco.
All told, the week, and especially the last two days, have been particularly painful for all involved, though gold and silver investors have enjoyed two consecutive days of gains after prolonged weakness. With precious metals beginning to show strength again, the dynamics of a failing global economy based on fiat dollars are showing their true colors.
Over the weekend, members of the G8 will be meeting at Camp David, purportedly to issue some kind of proclamation that all is well, or, ostensibly, to hammer out some new paradigm for global economic salvation. With any luck, they'll all agree to go home and do nothing, something for which they're all well trained.
In European news, the woes for the Southern states continued as Moody's downgraded 16 of the nation's banks and Fitch cut Greece's banks to CCC (big surprise there).
The weekend at hand, two words known well to hoarders of gold and silver: keep stacking.
Dow 12,369.38, -73.11 (0.59%)
NASDAQ 2,778.79, -34.90 (1.24%)
S&P 500 1,295.22, -9.64 (0.74%)
NYSE Composite 7,413.01, -67.42 (0.90%)
NASDAQ Volume 2,571,980,000
NYSE Volume 4,450,551,500
Combined NYSE & NASDAQ Advance - Decline: 1470-4143
Combined NYSE & NASDAQ New highs - New lows: 22-345 (worst since March of '09)
WTI crude oil: 91.48, -1.08
Gold: 1,591.90, +17.00
Silver: 28.72, +0.70
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