If you’re trading in futures or options these days, numerous experts will tell you there is reason for worry. Both the US and the European stock markets experienced relatively low trading volumes in late August, causing many analysts to predict bleak outlooks for the trading world. In what follows, we take a look at the major international markets and try to identify the underlying reasons for what appears to be a panic-stricken period for traders.
The global stock trading world seemed to function at relatively reduced levels in late August, 2012. On the one hand, the NASDAQ index lost 10 points when held up to fair value, while the S&P 500 and DOW indexes for futures also dropped by 6 and 42 points respectively. Meanwhile, in Europe, the CAC shed .5 per cent and the DAX .8per cent. Even the relatively stable and prosperous Asian markets seemed to be affected by current developments in the worldwide economy, with the Hang Seng in Hong Kong dropping by 1.2%.
The main question is whether or not traders have sufficient cause for worry, as developers continue to release new and improved trading software platforms – if you want to stay on top of the options trading game, check out the latest in OptionBit reviews. As the world readies itself for Federal Bank president Ben Bernanke’s speech on the US monetary policy at Jackson Hole, the US economy seems to be sending mixed signals. On the one hand, new jobless quotients have exceeded the experts’ expectations by reaching 374k, 4k over the previously forecast 370k. However, the real estate market seems to be on a slight up and up, and, what is more, there has been an ever-so-slight, yet encouraging increase posted in personal income levels for July. This increase was naturally followed by a raise in personal expenditure – the two quotas grew by .3% and .4%, respectively, adhering to the experts’ previsions.
News on the European front seems less encouraging at the moment, indeed, with the Spanish yearly GDP having been revised downwards, from an expected drop of 1%, to 1.4%. Still, it is worth bearing in mind that the EuroZone crisis has been unfurling for over a year now, as Greece is still struggling to work its way out of the recession, and Spain is looking to France, Germany, and the European Central Bank for debt relief. It will be months, or even a year, financial analysts seem to agree, before the Spanish conundrum is set at ease and resolved – and with it, worries over the Euro finally settled.
I love to write on business and everything related to finance.
