As gold topped a record $1800 on Wednesday, traders that are long gold [GCCV1 1751.50 -32.80 (-1.84%) ] began to get nervous that they were behind a trade that may not have any potential new buyers left. After all, a trade only keeps working if you can find someone else who wants that particularly security or commodity at a higher price.
Author: AdmaD
AdmaD is a seasoned professional in Forex trading with a background in financial services and investments. Previously associated with Dukascopy Bank SA Switzerland, studied forex trading, insurance, real estate, and mortgage banking and extends to alternative investment strategies, particularly in Gold and Silver Investments, IRA Rollover services, and Commodity Online Trading.
$2.8 trillion lost in market turmoil so far
If stock market gyrations make you queasy, you may not want to read on.
The Wilshire 5000 Total Market Index has lost $2.8 trillion in value since the stock market slide began on July 22. Some $600 billion of that went up in smoke on Wednesday, when the index and the Dow Jones Industrial Average both dropped about 520 points.
Not surprisingly, the stock market’s wild swings in recent weeks have sent investors and retirees scurrying to their financial advisors for some hand holding. The main message they’re hearing: Stay put.
“Try to take a step back from the day-to-day,” said Chris Philips, senior investment analyst with Vanguard. “Reacting to these ups and downs and sideways swings can actually do more harm than good for most investors.”
Investors flee to gold
Stock-shocked investors are fleeing to gold, pushing the precious metal to new heights.
Gold reached a new intraday high of $1,782.50 per ounce in electronic trading before backing down to $1,746.20. That’s an increase of $33, or about 2%, compared to its Monday close. On Monday, gold broke $1,700 for the first time.
The current flight to gold has been by a nasty stock market plunge. On Monday, the Dow Jones industrial average plummeted 624 points, or about 5.5%, and the Nasdaq and S&P 500 dropped nearly 7%. It was the worst day on Wall Street since the 2008 fiscal crisis.
GLOBAL MARKETS-Investors dump stocks after U.S. downgrade
NEW YORK, Aug 8 (Reuters) – U.S. stocks plunged on Monday
and investors fled to the safety of gold and bonds after the
downgrade of the U.S. credit rating by Standard & Poor’s stoked
fears the United States is slipping into recession.
Wall Street slumped as much as 6 percent by mid-afternoon
and European stocks hit a two-year low. A favored gauge of
investor anxiety spiked well above 40, a sign investors are
afraid of more declines to come. The CBOE Volatility Index
.VIX surged 41.9 percent at 45.40.
Investors were struggling to discern the effects of the
U.S. credit rating downgrade to AA-plus from AAA, which could
hit various components of the vast U.S. financial sector, from
mortgage lenders to municipal issuers and insurers.
Investors lose a trillion dollars in one day
EW YORK (CNNMoney) — Investors lost a trillion dollars in the in the stock market Monday as the debt crisis in Europe, lackluster economic news and a downgrade to the U.S. credit rating spark fears of a double-dip recession.
The Wilshire 5000 Total Market Index, the broadest index of U.S. stocks, lost 891.93 points, or just over 7%, Monday. This represents a paper loss for the day of approximately $1.0 trillion.