Wall Street Gets Whiplash As FBI Reopens Hillary Email Investigation
Wall Street was briefly hit with whiplash on Friday afternoon before steadying after the FBI disclosed it will reopen the investigation into Former Secretary Clinton’s personal email server.
U.S. stocks turned lower, before rebounding slightly, after FBI Director James Comey delivered a letter to congress saying, “In connection with an unrelated case, the FBI has learned of the existence of emails that appear to be pertinent to the investigation.” That unrelated case is not believed to be associated with the WikiLeaks releases, according to Fox News. Within the S&P’s 11 major sectors industrials maintained the lead helped in part by General Electric (NYSE:GE) which confirmed it is in discussions with Baker Hughes (NYSE:BHI) about a potential partnership.
Volatility, as tracked by the CBOE’s VIX Index, jumped over 1% as investors shifted money into safer assets including gold which closed at $1,280 an ounce. George Gero, Managing Director, RBC Wealth Management tells FOXBusiness.com the FBI developments are “adding to election jitters, all headlines are read by nimble traders adding to nervous markets” he said.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GE | GE AEROSPACE | 167.50 | -1.34 | -0.80% |
| BHI | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. |
Prior to the news from the FBI investors were celebrating a slight uptick in U.S. economic growth. Third-quarter GDP rose 2.9%, the fastest pace in two years, according to the Commerce Department.
Along with the election, Wall Street is smack in the middle of earnings season and so far so good. More than half of the companies in the S&P 500 have reported results and 78% have exceeded profit expectations, while 58% have beaten sales targets, according to FactSet. John Butters, VP, Sr. Earnings Analyst notes results from banks and brokers, including JPMorgan (NYSE:JPM) and Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS), are among the standouts.