Historically, the shortened trading week of the Thanksgiving holiday brings calm and easiness to the markets. More often than not, it’s a time of low volatility, anemic trading volume and gains for investors. This week was none of that. Many of the issues that have been bubbling up over the last few months continued throughout the week. Investors digested bad news across the board and sold stocks hard.
Some of that bad news came from the light data released this week. While housing saw a bit of good news, drops in the manufacturing and consumer sectors plus a slight rise in unemployment all set the tone for a lower week.
As did earnings, with several retailers reported in-line or slightly lower quarterly reports at the beginning of the week. That primed the pump for traders. With very cautious and less-than-optimistic guidance figures for the fourth quarter and the rest of holiday season, traders continued their selling.
And with the geopolitical issues – such as BREXIT, Italy’s budget woes and scandals at the White House – investors were ready to pack it in and head for safety.
All in all, the shortened trading week was another down one for equities, which all saw big selling activity across the board.
Be sure to check out our previous week’s Wrap here, when investors were also selling stocks and volatility increased.
