World Falling in Line behind Developing Economies

World Falling in Line behind Developing Economies (YahooFinance)

Investors betting against the American economy got a much-needed shot in the arm yesterday, with the release of the Institute for Supply Management’s manufacturing survey. To no one’s surprise, the survey acknowledged a weakening in the manufacturing sector — to its lowest level in eight months. It didn’t take long for the survey’s findings to impact on the market. By the end of yesterday’s session, the Dow had fallen 2.1 percent to end at 15,372.80. The Nasdaq was off 2.6 percent, closing at 3,996.96 — its first close below 4,000 since Dec. 12. And the S&P 500 finished down 40.70 points at 1,741.89. With all of that negativity, the question lying in front of investors is this: What’s next? Is this raft of sour information enough to keep you out of the market for the foreseeable future? Or, will you take the next couple of days to digest this information, and then combine your conclusions with the results of Friday’s jobs report? I guess we’ll all see for ourselves how Americans respond on Friday, after 2:00 p.m. Eastern, when Chair Janet Yellen shares the meeting’s minutes.