US MARKETS
US MARKETS closed before the Independence Day holiday on the brink of a bear market after their seventh straight losing session, and the worst week for two months.
The S&P 500 lost 4.8 points to 1,022.6 on Friday to finish down 5 per cent for the week, leaving it 16 per cent below April highs and at its lowest point since September 2009, generating a “death cross”.
A “death cross” occurs when a shorter-term average falls below a longer term one, and last occurred between the 50 and 200 day moving averages in December 2007, which was at the early point of a slide which took the S&P 500 to a 12-year low.
The NASDAQ also finished poorly, dropping 9.6 points to 2,091, ending the week down by almost 6 per cent and falling by 17 per cent since April, but the Dow Jones fared better with a drop of 4.5 per cent last week and a drop of 13.5 per cent since April.
But the fear is if one of the indices reaches the 20 per cent drop threshold turning it into a bear market, it could trigger the others into a broader collapse.
Brokers will need to be well rested when the markets open again tomorrow as the pressure is set to continue following a weak June jobs report that contributed to a continued slide.
The figures continued market concern brought on by worries about a European sovereign debt crisis and a sluggish US labour market, which has seen investors flee since the market rally back in March.
The jobless rate in America slipped to 9.5 per cent for June from 9.7 per cent, the lowest it has been for over a year, but it was announced there are 125,000 fewer jobs after temporary census workers who offset previous figures have now left their positions. The figures for private hiring did rise by 83,000 from the previous month the department said.
Non-farm payrolls fell in June for the first time this year, adding to a slew of poor economic reports.