As of Thursday’s close in the US stock market, it has already been a wild week as the Dow Industrials has had over a 160 point range each day this week. On Wednesday, the range was closer to 300 points as the Dow closed at 17,597 after opening at 17,797.
The stock market had opened strong on Thursday as the better than expected Retail Sales data encouraged the bargain hunters. As I noted before the opening, there were signs that the market had formed a panic low Wednesday, and as I discuss in the What to Watch section, even the weak close Thursday does not change this view.
Thursday’s late reversal in the stock market was triggered by a further collapse in crude oil as the widely watched $60 per barrel level was broken in late trading. I have been discussing the weak technical outlook for crude oil over the past few months. In early November, crude oil, along with gold were labeled the Two Worst Markets in Any Time Frame.
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