Stocks Fall Under Global Slowdown Concerns

Fear gripped the markets today as investors sold heavily in the morning and shed additional shares near the close. If you have been reading FastSwings.com, then you know that I have been on hold since publishing the article ‘Stocks Recover But The Trend is Down’. The positive is that interest rates are falling to even lower lows, so refinancing for Americans is very affordable on automobiles and homes. Trading the market is a little less exciting during this time.

Following Asia and Europe lower was how the day began for the US. The confidence reading was weaker than expected and the markets remain worried about a lack of job growth. The Consumer Confidence reading was 52.9 this morning compared to an expected reading of 62.0 for June. Initial Claims are to be released on Thursday with Nonfarm Payrolls being released on Friday. The market is expecting a small increase in the Initial Claims with a large drop in Payrolls from a gain of 431,000 down to a loss a 100,000.

I took a look at the UltraShort S&P 500 ProShare (SDS) ETF this morning as a trade but would like to see the fund trade above $37 a share before purchasing a position. The fund did move higher today a little over 6% and could continue to climb as we approach the Payroll report on Friday. There were a significant number of August 2010 37 Strike Call Options traded today. A bullish sign to go along with the price increase and the overall market sentiment. If we need protection for long positions you are currently holding or would like to establish a short position on the markets, the SDS is a good way to do both.