PortfolioCrafter - Market Commentary 12/19/07
December 19th, 2007 / 10:30 pm / by portfoliocrafter
Stocks fluctuated Wednesday, ending a volatile session mixed after being briefly supported by news from the Federal Reserve, then slipped as credit concerns dampened enthusiasm.
The Dow Jones industrial average fell roughly 2 percent. The broader S&P 500 index was down 1.4 percent. The Nasdaq composite gained 0.2 percent.
Stocks were up in early trading as the Fed announced results for its first auction of $20 billion, signaling strong demand for the plan aimed at thawing frozen credit markets.
But Morgan Stanley’s $5.7 billion subprime related writedown and credit market concerns brought up by Standard & Poor’s warnings about bond insurers’ credit ratings, dragged the markets down in the afternoon.
Thursday brings economic reports from the government on third quarter gross domestic product and leading economic indicators. Also, Bear Stearns Corp will report its earnings for the fourth quarter.
All the best,
Manuel Jesus-Backus
The Portfolio Crafter
