Market Commentary 10/27/2008
The Markets
Declines in global markets and some disappointing third-quarter corporate earnings reports took the markets lower last week. The Federal Reserve meets this week in its last session before the presidential election. Economists expect the Fed to drop its rate a quarter to a half percentage point. This would reduce the prime rate, which banks and credit card companies charge consumers, to 4.25 percent or 4 percent, depending on the depth of the cut. For the week, the Dow lost 5.31 percent to finish at 8,378.95. The S&P fell 6.76 percent to 876.77, and the NASDAQ declined 9.31 percent to close the week at 1,552.03.
Source: Morningstar.com. * Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Indexes are unmanaged and cannot be invested into directly. Three and five-year returns are annualized. The S&P, excluding “1 Week” returns, is a reflection of return to an investor, by reinvesting dividends after the deduction of withholding tax.
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