Headline:
“Dow falls for second day, drops more than 100 points after China officials cut US visit short”
(CNBC –Friday Sept. 20, 2019, 4:56 PM EDT)
This was CNBC’s effort at a excuse or explanation for a softening market at the close last Friday. Generally speaking the market does soften as it goes into the weekend. Traders like to leave with a neutral, (no net long or short position) going into the weekend. They either sell or sell short to accomplish this. It will put pressure on prices. This is no mystery. For some reason CNBC and the media in general feels it is necessary to explain every jiggle in the market. The above headline, to those worried about the status of trade negotiations, would seem a bit disconcerting. It appears to be a non-event.
The Facts Behind the Headline.
The Chinese decided to pass on visits to US farms in Montana on their way home. Without the farm visits the flight time between Washington, D.C. and Beijing is 14 hours and 23 minutes. If I were them (not sure exactly what the relevance of the visits would really have to trade negotiations), I would have bagged what would probably have been at least a six hour excursion /diversion in favor of getting home in a more timely fashion.
Meanwhile this headline and the media rhetoric after the cancelation made it sound like there was a breakdown in negotiations afoot. The details regarding the farm visits would tend to belie that.
Did this spook you just a little bit? Whether or not, I believe it to be a typical media gambit to grab your attention.
BOTTOM LINE: When investing the media is not your Friend.
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