Business

Market Recap: Markets Subdued By Fitch Downgrades

Markets closed mixed on Wall Street today:

  • Dow -0.02 percent
  • S&P +0.32 percent
  •  Nasdaq +0.56 percent
  • Oil +0.11 percent
  • Gold +1.44 percent

On the commodities front:

  •  Oil (NYSE:USO) climbed slightly to $93.97 a barrel
  • Gold (NYSE:GLD) up to $1,599.90 an ounce
  • Silver (NYSE:SLV) climbed 1.35 percent to settle at $29.67

(Related: Static Consumer Prices Signal Cooling Inflation)

Today’s markets were mixed because:

1) Fitch: A midday sell-off came after Fitch Ratings put seven European countries on creditwatch negative, citing a higher probability that it could downgrade Belgium, Spain, Slovenia, Italy, Ireland, or Cyprus in the next few months.

Markets forfeited a good share of their earlier gains, with the Nasdaq and S&P 500 falling off session highs upwards of 1 percent. Still, investors breathed a sigh of relief that France was not on that list, and the euro zone’s second-largest economy (next to Germany’s) would at least for now retain its pristine AAA rating.

2) Banks: After markets closed on Thursday, Fitch downgraded seven major banks, including Bank of America, Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, Barclays, Societe Generale, BNP Paribas, Deutsche Bank , and Credit Suisse. While the financial sector was mixed, all of the downgraded lenders were trading in the red today.

3) Zynga: Shares of Zynga rose 10 percent in their public debut on the Nasdaq today before falling to close the day down 5 percent off its initial share price of $10. The less-than-stellar debut of the biggest tech IPO since Google raised $1.9 billion in 2004 does not bode well for markets.

[Editor’s note: the above is a cross post that originally appeared on Wall St. Cheat Sheet.]

Comments (10)

  • TOMMYSURIA
    Posted on December 19, 2011 at 4:35pm

    http://www.webofdebt.com/
    Glass Steagall vs. Obama: the Choice is Yours HR 1489
    NO FED, NO PAIN
    The current weight of trillions of dollars in gambling debts, foisted on the U.S. taxpayers in the 2008-2011
    bailout of Wall St. and the City of London, is currently obliterating and destroying the economy of the
    United States and its people. We must change course immediately.
    The first step is to reinstate Glass-Steagall. Without a return to the original Franklin Roosevelt Glass-
    Steagall standard, there is no possibility of the continued existence of the United States, as economist
    Lyndon LaRouche has insisted. Only the re-imposition of the FDR Glass-Steagall principle will separate
    commercial from speculative banking, thus freeing the nation from obligations to Wall St. and the City of
    London, and re-establishing a credit system for rebuilding the nation.
    H.R. 1489, the Return to Prudent Banking Act of 2011, is now before the House of Representatives, which aims “to … revive the separation between commercial banking and the securities business, in the manner provided in the Banking Act of 1933, the so-called ‘Glass-Steagall Act.’”
    We, the undersigned, therefore demand that Congress immediately act to pass H.R. 1489, and identical
    legislation in the Senate, as the indispensable first measure to save the nation.

    Report Post » TOMMYSURIA  
  • Tretka
    Posted on December 17, 2011 at 1:30am

    I always wonder what it will take for people to get it. What will send them off in panic to try and make up for the time it takes to provide a safe harbor for home and family? That is going to be hard to watch and scary.

    Many people I know like to make fun of me or consider me a novelty. I have been preparing for years. I rarely even try to talk to most people now, they won’t listen until it is too late. It’s hard to watch. It really is.

    I am very blessed to be the Daughter and Grand-Daughter of folks who lived and were born smack in the middle of the depression of the 30′s. I have a rubber band box ( i save them off newspapers) and I use them as hangers in areas like the laundry room, I do wash jelly and pickle jars and save them (and use them for left overs).

    And HERE is a really weird one, I mean weird one. My Gram ( who just passed at the age of 99 in April 2011) taught me how to make gravy out of hot dog water. She used to tell me you could get 15 dogs (she called them weiners) for 10 cents! Out of that, she would do so much feeding it was crazy. She would serve dogs, spaetzle, and the gravy she made from the hot dogs, and she always said no matter what she would find a vegetable. Even if it meant using a part of the vegetable you don’t always eat. I am so grateful for her (and my Mum).

    Report Post » Tretka  
    • lukerw
      Posted on December 17, 2011 at 8:27am

      Yummm… Potato Pancakes… and Soup…

      Report Post » lukerw  
  • Outlaw_Josey_Wales
    Posted on December 16, 2011 at 8:25pm

    Stock BAC, Bank of America
    $3.12 on 3-5-2009
    $19.40 on 4-4-2010
    $5.21 on 12-16-2011 down graded

    Looks like Bank of America is in big trouble, maybe it‘s stock will go lower than the March 2009 low’s?

    Report Post » Outlaw_Josey_Wales  
  • Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}
    Posted on December 16, 2011 at 7:12pm

    Bit of advice, watch for whatever announcements Soros or his companies decide to make; when one is positioning itself for a purchace, there is the next slam to all going to happen.

    Anyone want to figure the odds Soros and his cronies will hold onto as much gold as they can and them clean house by selling short on the price just as it “happens” to tank?

    Report Post » Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}  
    • TXPilot
      Posted on December 16, 2011 at 8:07pm

      Well, the market these days is a study in how people and institutions are living in fantasy land, thanks to their normalcy bias. The market moves up and down hundreds of points per week, based on nothing but rumors and rumors of rumors. The market is about to crash, and there is nothing that can stop it.

      Report Post » TXPilot  
  • lukerw
    Posted on December 16, 2011 at 7:07pm

    The Market increased; Gold increased; Libor increased — so, EU Investors are bailing out!

    Report Post » lukerw  
  • decendentof56
    Posted on December 16, 2011 at 7:03pm

    I’ll give that friend some food when he gets desperate. Of course, that’s after I take care of my own family.

    Report Post »  
  • decendentof56
    Posted on December 16, 2011 at 7:02pm

    We have decisions to make:
    Gold, Silver,long-term food, guns, ammo, etc. Kill the credit cards, forget the new car.
    A good friend was at my house today. I showed the plastic bucket of 25 yr freeze-dried food I recently purchased. He laughed! I laughed back at him for being stupid. OK, I like the guy, so I laughed under my breath.
    He ACTUALLY thinks I am nuts, but I haven’t had to re-finance my home 4 times! I grew up on a farm, and I can grow my own vegs. My wife cans and freezes food. I have a generator. I have storage, and I know how to defend myself.
    I actually think he is nuts!

    Report Post »  
    • truthseekerusa
      Posted on December 16, 2011 at 7:11pm

      He who laughs last, laughs best. Too bad you showed the stored food to your friend as he will be expecting you to share it in time of need.

      Report Post »  

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