Markets were shaken today following the announcement that S&P issued a negative outlook for U.S. debt. While this doesn’t constitute a downgrade of the world’s largest economy, they cited evidence both politically and economically that it didn’t appear the deficit would be reduced by any significant amount in the near future leading to further accumulation of debt.
The Colombian Colcap index had a negative reaction to the news as did every other market as it dropped 0.98%. Due to the holiday week though, volume was extremely light, making record year lows, as only about USD $18 million traded today.
The S&P500 index was hammered in early trading but finished the day slightly better at a 1.10% loss. The majority of European indices lost more than 2%, Asia was down as were the largest Latin American markets, Brasil and Mexico.
The peso lost a couple pesos in trading today and closed at 1,800.00 to the dollar.
Saudia Arabia reported that from February to March they decreased output by 800,000 barrels per day due to lower demand. The news sent oil tumbling until it closed at $107.37/barrel, a 2.09% drop. Gold had a strong day based on the news in the U.S. as it’s just shy from closing above 1,500/ounce.
