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The Dow Jones Industrial Average sank below 10,000 Monday, closing at 9,908.39. So what? In market analysis, round numbers like 10,000 often trigger a change in market sentiment.
For example, when the Dow first pushed through 10,000 on the upside in 1999, investors and traders took this as a sign of strength. Conversely, when it crashed through 10,000 on its way down to 6,400, panic gripped Wall Street. Then, in 2009, we had a bounce back through 10,000 on the upside in November. Again, investors and traders saw this as a sign of strength.
Often markets trade through these psychological points and then we try to find out why. In this case, the reason cited is concern over several European countries being able to manage their sovereign debt. Among them are Greece, Ireland, Spain and Portugal. Today there was a new rumor that Belgium sovereign debt is top heavy.
The Group of 7 leaders issued a statement over the weekend reassuring the world that there was no contagion, that fears over sovereign debt management should not spread. Nevertheless, traders were not convinced that the crisis was over. Rhetoric only works when traders believe it. Monday, the market told us that investors and traders are still not convinced. Bill Stone of PNC Wealth Management said, "People worry that this is the straw that breaks the camel's back again."
As was mentioned last week, markets loathe uncertainty. Monday's action was a clear example of that axiom.
The U.S. dollar started the day down, but by day's end was only down .05% on the March Dollar Index.
Do you see market weakness continuing?
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