Premier Partners Group: The rating agency Standard and Poor’s downgraded the US late Friday, from AAA to AA+. This is the first time in history that the US has been downgraded, with the S&P stating that the outlook for the worlds largest economy is negative, with another possible downgrade expected in the next two years. Friday’s trade on the US markets was extremely volatile, with the Dow swinging wildly before finishing slightly up.
Asian markets reacted negatively during trade today, with all indices sharply lower. The Hang Seng and KOSPI fell around 4%, with the ASX 200 down almost 3% and the Nikkei lower by 2.2%. Analysts in Asia repeated earlier claims that the economy in the region continues to be strong, and expect stocks to bounce back this week. In fact, some analysts are predicting that Asia will attract global inflows of capital, as investors seek strong markets and better returns in the short-term.
Oil prices fell after the S&P move, dropping to as low as $83.18 during electronic trading with gold prices moving in the opposite direction, topping $1718 dollars an ounce.
