Broad market indexes fell by 1.00% today as the dollar strengthened as investors sought government bonds amid the recent market turmoil. Investors were also disappointed with a poor earnings forecast from 3M and a weak sales report from McDonalds, both Dow Components. The President also outlined new spending measures aimed at trimming unemployment by putting to people to work building infrastructure projects, small business tax cuts and energy-efficiency initiatives. These programs will most likely be paid for by the $200 billion that the Treasury now expects to receive back from the TARP bailouts.
The ETFdb 60 Index shed 7.53 points, or 0.7%, to close at 1,017.50. Decliners outnumbered advancing components by more than two-to-one, with 20 ETFs losing 1% or more on the day.
Gold continued its tumble, finishing the day down over $20. The yellow metal has lost more than $100 after hitting a high over $1200/oz. late last week. Weakness in precious metals once again sent mining stocks lower, and the Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (GDX) found itself down over 4% for the day. GDX has now lost ground in the last four trading sessions, giving up almost 13% over that period.
Bucking the downward trend in commodities was natural gas, the main natural gas ETF, UNG, found itself up nearly 1.75% in today’s trading thanks to a cold snap in the Northeast and Midwest United States.
Disclosure: No positions at time of writing.
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