Market Insight: Stocks on Pause as Fear Gauge Hits Historic Low
Latest market trends, global stocks pause post-Thanksgiving. Insights on Wall Street's fear gauge, bond market shifts, and key indicators for U.S. economic outlook. Stay informed with our real-time updates.
Global markets paused on Monday as Wall Street's 'fear gauge' hit its lowest point since before the COVID-19 pandemic. The VIX index, which measures how scared people are about the stock market, dropped a lot on Friday, making it the lowest since 2020.
After the long Thanksgiving weekend in the U.S., markets came back, and something interesting happened. The VIX index, which shows how much the stock market might go up and down, went really low. Some experts think this might make people want to buy a kind of insurance for their investments, and it could go back to how it usually behaves. Today, it went up a bit but stayed above 13.
Even though Friday's move might be because of the holiday and some contracts ending soon, this low 'volatility' is showing up in other places too. People seem hopeful about the year 2024, thinking that a lot of money that was kept safe will start going back into stocks and bonds.
Even with the U.S. government selling a lot of new bonds (which are like IOUs), the measure of how much the bond market is changing went really low. This hasn't happened since late September.
The Federal Reserve, which is like the boss of the U.S. money, is saying it's too early to talk about making interest rates lower. But the rates on government IOUs went up a little, maybe because people are waiting for some reports about how prices are changing and a speech from the head of the Federal Reserve.
People were buying fewer stocks on Monday, and markets in Asia and Europe were also going down. Even though there was good news about people shopping a lot on 'Black Friday,' the stock market didn't look happy.
The U.S. money was worth a bit less, and the prices for oil that comes from the U.S. also went down. In a place called Gaza, where there was fighting, they stopped for a few days, hoping to let some people go free.
Some parts of the world are doing better economically than expected, and some are not doing as well. China, which is a big country, is having some problems. The companies that make things are not making as much money, and some people are worried. The police in Beijing are checking if a big company did something wrong.
Also, there's worry about people getting sick, even though the World Health Organization says it's not as bad as when COVID-19 started. But in some places, more people are getting sick, so it's still a concern.
Not everything is bad, though. Some smaller Chinese companies did well because a stock market in Beijing made a new rule. It stopped big owners of companies from selling their shares, and this made the prices go up.
Later today, we'll know more about the U.S. housing market and what companies earned money. There will be reports about how many new houses were sold, how factories are doing, and some companies will tell us how much money they made. Keep an eye out for news from Zscaler, Cerence, Anavex Life Sciences, UP Fintech, Ituran Location and Control, and Smart Share Global.
