US futures down, in a month that continues to be difficult for the US stock market. Dow Jones futures drop 0.30% to 34,523 points; those on the S&P 500 are down by 0.32% to 4,450 points, while those on the Nasdaq are down by 0.27% to 15,467 points. Yesterday the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 63 points, after dropping down to -274 points in the intraday lows; the S&P 500 fell 0.16%, while the Nasdaq Composite fared better, which benefited from buy on Netflix, Microsoft and Amazon.
The decision of JP Morgan analysts to cut their outlook on US GDP for the third quarter from the growth of + 7% previously expected to + 5% is certainly not helpful today.
That said, the week ends in positive territory.
The Dow Jones gained 0.41%, the S&P 500 was up 0.34%, the Nasdaq Composite was up 0.44% on a weekly basis.
On the other hand, September remains negative, with the Dow Jones losing 1.7%, the S&P 500 retreating by 1.1% although only 1.6% lower than the absolute maximum and the Nasdaq down by 0.5%.
Today is a special day for Wall Street, grappling with the day of the “four witches”, that is, the expiration of futures on stock indices, options on stock indices, options on stocks and futures on individual stocks.
In a statement published today, John Marshall, head of the derivatives research division at Goldman Sachs, wrote that he expected “an increase in volatility over the next month due to the seasonal increase in investor uncertainty, l ‘continuing uncertainty linked to the virus, and to the significant catalysts represented by monetary and fiscal policies “.
Marshall recalled among other things that the volatility of the S&P 500 index usually increased by 27% in the period between August and October.