U.S. Market Watch: Another Bearish Day

The US Stock Market and ETFs will likely continue to decline today in response to continued Congressional bickering and in response to today’s negative expectations regarding new economic data.

All three US Indexes and their respective ETFs failed to perform yesterday, with the S&P 500 (SPY) losing .26%, the NASDAQ Composite (QQQ) gaining a shy .08%, and with the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DIA) losing .43%. Although European markets finished strong yesterday with the DAX gaining .34% and the FTSE adding .85%, Asia appears to be losing ground at the time of this writing. All in all, markets abroad appear mixed, so we will likely feel mixed sentiment today at home as well.

On the economic reports side of things, we are expecting a new Durable Goods Orders report, a New Housing Starts report, and a new Household Debt report, all of which analysts forecast to be negative. Judging by yesterday’s lackluster Consumer Confidence Report, I would be surprised if today brings good news. Investors never like bad economic data, so today could be another perfect day in the red.

The largest issue today however is whether the Senate will begin negotiating the House bill passed last week intended to raise the debt ceiling and to defund Obamacare. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid needs 60 votes to get the discussion going, and only 50 votes to pass an amended bill, despite the fact the Senator Ted Cruz of Texas plans to “talk until I am no longer able to stand” on the Senate floor. Regardless of what happens today on the Hill, battle lines are now set deeper, and we have five days left until the government will shut down if a compromise is not reached. Investors never like political infighting, so it will be interesting to watch investors’ reactions to the Senate proceedings.

Bottom Line: I predict another bearish day, based on the childish ways of Congress and the expected negative economic reports. At the end of the day, events in the Middle East (like Syria) and Congressional infighting are typically never good for investors, so I believe we are looking at more red until things (hopefully) clear up in the near future.

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