The S&P 500 fell 1/2% to 1289.
Many
in the news media reported today that the markets were down because S&P
downgraded most of the European countries.
This had been widely anticipated and is of no importance to the outcome
in Europe. The troubles with sovereign
debt are so well known, one must wonder why the rating agencies even bother
with rating countries. When they
downgraded the US, interest rates hardly budged.
A
more likely reason for the drop was that, as of yesterday, there had only been
4-down days in the last month. I suspect
that some technical traders figured it was time to sell today.
In the end, guessing the reason for an up or down day is meaningless folly.
Today the NTSM analysis remained BUY.
I
bought back into the stock market at S&P 500, 1155 on 7 Oct after the 6 Oct
NTSM buy signal. I remain 100% long in
the long term portfolio (100% stocks in the 401k.). (See the page “How to Use
the NTSM System” – the link is on the right side of this page).
I
am 90% long in the trading portfolio. I
may take profits on the trade soon to cut some risk.
Just
a reminder: 100% invested in stocks is way too much for most rational
folks. Don’t do it unless you have a
high tolerance for risk.
