Thursday was another nasty down day in the markets.
The S&P 500 was down 1.6% and Toronto was down 0.9%.
And tomorrow is not shaping up to be any better… (more below)
Most stocks were down, some of the bigger declines were Starbucks down 3.0%, CRH Medical down 4.4%, American Express down 3.0%, Constellation Software down 3.6%, and Walmart down 3.6%.
Linamar managed a 0.5% gain, Toll Brothers was up 1.4% and AutoCanada was up 1.6%.
Tomorrow is the shortest and therefore darkest day of the year and it is looking to be another dark day in the markets.
Part of the reason for the decline today was a threatened U.S. government “shutdown” unless Trump gets $5 billion for his wall. If that impasse were to end then that would be positive for stocks. But Trump has signaled he is not going to back down.
The U.S. defense secretary has just now resigned due to Trump pulling out of Syria.
I’m afraid that Trump is starting to act like a wounded and cornered animal. With all the investigations and the firings and resignations the Trump presidency certainly seems to be in turmoil.
Progress on the trade friction with China would be positive for markets. But Trump seems more likely to do things that impede trade since that plays well with his base.
The share prices of good companies will ultimately recover. But meanwhile there could certainly be a lot more selling pressure before things settle out.