Not-So-Black Monday
Last Friday was the 20th anniversary of ‘Black Monday,’ the date in 1987 when the DJIA dropped 22% in one of the biggest crashes ever. How did Wall Street celebrate? By dumping about 2.5% or over 350 points. Friday’s sell off in America, led to Asian selling on Monday morning with Shanghai, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and most of the rest of Asia ending their day down.
On Monday, it appeared that Wall Street would continue the trend, as the Dow quickly dropped 119 points and remained down much of the day. Finally, the buyers came out and the index rallied to finish up 44 points. Earnings season might have had something to do with the recovery, or perhaps cooler heads finally prevailed. After the bell, Apple (AAPL) announced a magnificent report, and shares charged up almost 7% after gaining over 2% during the day. American Express (AXP) also announced, and gained over 3% after hours. Royal Caribbean Cruises Inc. (RCL) sailed to a 7% gain during regular hours.
Whether these after hours moves are indicative of an upswing for tomorrow and the rest of the week is anyone’s guess, but the tech earnings, so far, have been a huge boost, with all the big names meeting or exceeding expectations. Google, Apple, and Intel have all posted big numbers so far. Later in the week, Amazon and Microsoft are the tech giants that will announce, as well as Motorola, Comcast, Wendy’s, and ConocoPhillips.
