Stocks Slide Again; Is Market Anticipating A Trump Victory Or Government Shutdown?

Stocks fell for the second straight session, extending losses from Friday to open the new week.

Causes for the two-day selling spree are questionable, but Monday's New Home Sales release by the Commerce Department may be a good place to start. After surging in July, new home sales fell 7.6% nationally, following a July surge.

Perhaps even more troubling is that the median price of a new home sold in August was down 3.1% from July and down 5.3% from a year earlier.

That's a real problem because the home-selling business has been anything but brisk, though price increases were a good sign for the Federal Reserve, which is dying to find any hint of inflation (they love it; consumers hate it). Thus, if new homes are selling at a discount from the year earlier, one could probably safely assume that existing homes are seeing price pressure to the downside as well.

Extrapolating from what is normally regarded as the biggest single purchase in a person's life, the cost of a home (or rent) going lower is going to put the brakes on inflation in a very large way, perhaps in a way that many people looking to sell are not going to appreciate. Recall that the last housing bust was a scant eight years ago. There are still underwater homeowners in various stages of despair, though the numbers have eased significantly over the years.

A downturn in housing prices, while great for new buyers, are overall anathema for the economy. How that squares with Wall Street's ongoing love-hate affair with the Fed and the call for higher interest rates is as yet unknown, but, after last week's stall on raising rates there's the distinct possibility that the Fed has called the market's bluff for the final time.

A FOMC meeting is sceduled for the first week in November, just prior to the election, so there's almost zero probability that the Fed would raise rates at that point, upsetting not just the market but the political class as well. That leaves December as the last chance for the Fed to raise rates, and looking back at their last December hike (a market disaster), there's some thinking that the almighty Fed may not want to repeat that particular episode.

One other potentiality for the sudden downturn in stocks is that inside money is looking seriously at a Donald Trump victory in November. Tonight's first debate (of three) between the Donald and Hillary Clinton may be a watershed moment in US political history. The most recent polls have the two candidates nearly even, as Mr. Trump has eviscerated Clinton's large post-convention lead, especially in some key battleground states such as Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Florida.

Why large investors may be nervous about a Trump victory is the gnawing, belly-aching suspicion that Trump may be good for small business but bad for big business. His platform is not well-formed, but, he has used the words "crony capitalism" to his populist advantage. It's code for "no more business as usual" which means many of the larger firms (think S&P 500) that have benefited from decades of competition-crushing regulations and legislation may be looking at a more level playing field which puts small businesses on a better footing, something with which they have no relevant experience. That opens up new possibilities that favor smaller competitors taking market share from larger ones, to the ultimate detriment of the US stock market, but probably to the betterment of the overall economy.

Not withstanding any other reasons to fear a Trump presidency, the elitists on Wall Street and in the nation's capitol simply do not know what to expect. That's why they're the status quo and Donald Trump spells big danger.

Another rationale for a market downturn is the continuing drama over keeping the federal government operating past this coming Friday. The president and congress are doing their usual dance of death surrounding a continuing resolution rater than an actual budget to avoid a government shutdown and the Friday deadline is looming large.

Lastly, this being the last week of September, maybe the marketeers are gearing up for an October to remember, as has occurred on numerous occasions in the past. Market crashes and corrections always seem to pop up in the harvest month, and this one offers even more uncertainty than usual.

Blue Monday:
Dow Jones Industrial Average
18,094.83, -166.62 (-0.91%)

NASDAQ
5,257.49, -48.26 (-0.91%)

S&P 500
2,146.10, -18.59 (-0.86%)

NYSE Composite
10,624.88, -93.11 (-0.87%)

Fed Holds, Market Stuck; Donald Trump A Viable Alternative

The stage is set for the presidential election and the Fed will try its best to not influence it (that is, unless Hillary Clinton is losing).

At its most recent meeting - which ended this past Wednesday with the usual "no change" announcement - the FOMC decided that there wasn't enough positive economic data to support raising rates, despite record low unemployment according to official sources.

Thise in the know understand that the Fed cannot and will not (the next meeting is scheduled for November 1-2) raise interest rates prior to the election (November 8) because any increase, such as the lonesome one of 0.25% back in December of last year, would cause a market panic and sharp selloff of stocks.

The condition is asinine, akin to preparing a race horse for racing and then continually scratching the nag before the event.

Members of the Fed continue to jawbone about raising rates, which keeps their fragile authority intact. The truth is that they lost control back in 2008, and have done nothing to retain or repair the confidence of the populace, though, due to normalcy bias, everybody keeps using fiat money and going along for the zero interest rate ride for the time being.

These policies cannot last forever, thus it may become fashionable and even predictable to vote for Donald Trump in the upcoming election. Trump is a change agent, one feared in the halls of congress, statehouses and even in the conference rooms of the Fed's Eccles building.

Stocks are overpriced because there is no alternative for many large investors, and that's a danger.

So, get ready for a rocky road ahead. The first presidential debate is Monday, and that event could change the dynamics for November and the immediate future.

Stay tuned and stay liquid.

Friday's Closing Prices:
Dow Jones Industrial Average
18,261.45, -131.01 (-0.71%)

NASDAQ
5,305.75, -33.78 (-0.63%)

S&P 500
2,164.69, -12.49 (-0.57%)

NYSE Composite
10,717.99, -75.67 (-0.70%)

The week:
Dow: +137.65 (0.76%)
NASDAQ: +61.18 (1.17%)
S&P 500: +25.53 (1.19%)
NYSE Composite: +185.72 (1.76)

Fed Holds Rates Steady; Nothing To See Here

As expected, the Fed holds the federal funds overnight rate at 0.25-0.50%.

Since this was a foregone conclusion, there's little need to mention the market reaction, which, as always, was BUY! BUY! BUY!

It's a little bit sick, this interest rate game. Money Daily will have more on this in coming days.

Markets Brace For FOMC Nothing-Burger

Just in case you're keeping score at home, stocks remain in caution mode prior to the FOMC rate policy announcement due out tomorrow at 2:00 pm EDT.

Consensus sentiment is that the governors will do what they've done at every meeting except one since the end of 2008... nothing.

Federal funds rate will likely remain at 0.25-0.50, or effectively zero, and the financial world will once again be treated to the numb mumbling and vague interpretations of data by Chairwoman Janet Yellen at a press conference a half hour after the announcement.

This is all nonsense, all for show, and all for naught. Any attempt at "normalization" (as the Fed likes to put it) will send the interest on US debt to astronomical levels, upsetting the entire global financial universe.

It is precisely why the Fed and other central banks cannot raise rates, or, if they somehow choose to do so, it will be a gradual, drawn out process, because the unwinding of 5, 7, 10, and 30-year notes and bonds will take that many years. Unless the Fed intends to bankrupt all existing nation-states - always a possibility - interest rate increases will be gradual, if at all. The central banks have no way out of the mess they've created, except by creating another, even worse mess.

Tomorrow, like today and the day before, will be nothing but a dog-and-pony show, and a bad one at that.

Nothing even close to important will occur prior to the November elections. The Fed and their buddies are hoping that Hillary Clinton remains alive long enough to win and then, last until January 20, when she will supposedly assume the throne of president of the United States of America.

Those are two possibilities that fewer and fewer people are putting on hard money. There is one good future for the USA, and it does not include a Clinton presidency.

Tuesday's Close:
Dow 30
18,129.96, +9.79 (0.05%)

NASDAQ
5,241.35, +6.33 (0.12%)

S&P 500
2,139.76, +0.64 (0.03%)
^NYA

NYSE COMPOSITE (DJ)
10,573.98, +9.68 (0.09%)

Confusion Reigns In Advance Of FOMC Interest Rate Meeting

Depending upon your individual point of view, Friday's trading was either remarkable or expected.

Following Thursday's ramp-up on news that retail sales were still slumping - leading many to believe the Fed would not dare raise rates next week - stocks opened the day in the red and remained there.

This being a triple-or-quad witching options expiration day, the downdraft could signify many things, but mostly that traders had done their best to capitalize on Thursday, before the rush to close out positions.

That's the most reliable explanation for Friday's fumble, though hardly one adequate enough.

The week ending on a downbeat means little, except that there was some selling in the face of uncertainty over the weekend and leading up to the FOMC meeting Tuesday and Wednesday.

Despite the considerable volatility in play, Dow and S&P stocks ended the week roughly where they began, the NASDAQ was ahead by more than two percent, with the NYSE Composite three-quarters of a percent lower, leaving everyone equally confused.

Betting types will be putting their money on the Fed leaving rates unchanged at the upcoming meeting, not wanting to damage the chances for Hillary Clinton any further than the candidate has done so herself.

Friday's Close:
Dow Jones Industrial Average
18,123.80, -88.68 (-0.49%)

NASDAQ
5,244.57, -5.12 (-0.10%)

S&P 500
2,139.16, -8.10 (-0.38%)

NYSE Composite
10,529.83, -73.11 (-0.69%)

For the Week:
Dow: +38.35 (0.25%)
NASDAQ: +118.66 (2.31%)
S&P 500: +11.35 (0.53%)
NYSE Composite: -80.00 (-0.76%)