Pressure appears to be building as the stock market bull run falters.
Major indices have given up gains and moved away from lofty highs. The DOW, S&P 500 and Nasdaq all closed down – each losing around 1% on Wednesday, 18th August 2021.
The FTSE 100 and DAX, Nikkei and Hang-Seng all lost ground too.
U.S. markets down
| U.S. markets | % change | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dow Jones – closed at | -1.08% | 34960 | -383 |
| Nasdaq – closed at | -0.89% | 14526 | -130 |
| S&P 50 – closed at | -1.07% | 4400 | -48 |
Nikkei and Hang Seng also lost ground
Asia markets | % change | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hang Seng – closed at | -2.62% | 25190 | -676 |
| Nikkei – closed at | -1.10% | 27281 | -305 |
Let’s take a quick look at the current news stories affecting markets…
First up – a headline from CNBC – Hard lesson for U.S. investors: Chinese companies don’t make the rules in China – Lobbying: China firms can’t influence government like US companies do (cnbc.com)
Robinhood revenue doubles for second quarter, but shares fall after app warns trading is slowing – Robinhood second-quarter earnings 2021 (cnbc.com)
Bitcoin volatility will drive investors back to gold, says mining firm chairman – Cryptocurrencies: Evolution Mining on bitcoin versus gold (cnbc.com)
Tesla buyers confounded by delivery delays stretching for months – Tesla buyers confounded by delivery delays stretching for months (cnbc.com)
Soaring demand for the world’s least-liked commodity sees thermal coal prices jump 106% this year – Coal prices: The world’s least-liked commodity sees remarkable rally (cnbc.com)
Covid Vaccines Are Less Effective Against Delta, Large Study Finds – Covid Vaccines Are Less Effective Against Delta in U.K. Study – Bloomberg
Investors compare 2021 stock market rally to the pre-crash summer of 1987 — should they? – Investors compare 2021 stock-market rally to the pre-crash summer of 1987 — should they? – MarketWatch
Former Netflix staffers charged for insider trading – Former Netflix staffers charged for making $3m from insider trading – BBC News
Federal Reserve preparing for taper this year, July minutes show – Fed minutes July 2021: Preparing for a taper this year (cnbc.com)
Business news conclusion
The report detailing thermal coal price and production increases is a weird one for me – surprised to see this level of coal production increase – especially in our new emerging green world order of zero carbon targets!
The Covid-19 Delta variant continues to gain traction as a new UK study reported vaccines wane over time and are less effective against the new virus strain. U.S. Delta cases continue to climb. New Zealand witnesses 23 new cases of the Delta variant.
The lofty market positions are being eroded today as investors compare the current stock market rally to the pre-crash market of 1987 – and then, if you re-call, we experienced Black Monday market crash!
Looks like Robinhood made gains from retail crypto trading – that trade benefit now appears to have levelled off.
Fed tapering talk was highlighted in the Fed minutes – suggested it is on the agenda for 2021. Threat of stimulus removal will spook the market.
Are the markets gearing up for a pullback – in my opinion one is certainly due!
Market moving event
U.S. employment data due at: 13:30 BST
My positions
I currently hold shorts on: DOW, S&P 500 and Nasdaq.
Long on Rolls Royce (RR.)
Next update Friday – 20th August 2021.