By Stewart Lewis
(September 17 – 09:00 ET) – U.S. Stocks are expected to recover today. The usual practice of triple-witching – the expiration of stock options, stock futures and stock index futures – that will take place today is expected to be more benign then usual. The usual volatility surrounding this practice shouldn’t be evident because many traders unwound their positions in previous sessions.
Traders are also eager for an active day since trading, particularly in commodities and futures, was hampered yesterday by Hurricane Floyd. There were torrents of rain coming down on Wall Street and storms caused by poor earnings on the exchange floors. The Dow Jones Industrials ended 63.96 lower at 10737.46, and the Nasdaq shed 7.45 to close at 2806.72.
Most European indexes were higher, led by financial shares after the European Central Bank soothed investor fears about rising interest rates. The German DAX, the Paris CAC-40 and London’s Financial Times-Stock Exchange 100 all advanced 0.4%.
In Asia, the Tokyo stock market closed slightly higher. The Nikkei 225 index rose 0.29%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index added 0.4%.
Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan is speaking at a Year 2000 conference in Washington. Traders and investors will be watching him for hints on future interest rate hikes.
Toronto stocks rose at the open, boosted by a strong U.S. dollar. The U.S. dollar has lost up to 15 percent against the yen in the past two months.
Canadian traders will have to decide whether they want to react in a volatile manner to the American’s triple-witching.
Statistics Canada is reporting that Canada’s overall inflation rate rose 2.1 percent in August. That’s up from 1.8 percent in July. The core consumer price index, which excludes food and energy prices, rose 1.6 percent in August. That’s down from a 1.7 percent rise in July.