FN Arena. 16/3/18.. By Greg Peel Royal Flush On Tuesday night...

FN Arena. 16/3/18..
By Greg Peel
Royal Flush
On Tuesday night the S&P500 fell -0.6% and the ASX200 followed suit on Wednesday by falling around -30 points. On Wednesday night the S&P again fell -0.6% and the ASX200 again followed suit to midday yesterday, falling around another -30 points.
That fall took the index close to the 5900 mark, which could have set off greater volatility given it was index option expiry day, but the buyers moved in to avert any trouble and we recovered to a less imposing close.
I suggested earlier in the week that given the bank Royal Commission is set to run for a year, it would most likely be background noise rather than a day to day market mover unless anything we didn’t already know was unearthed. Well the Commission’s only being running for three days from its official commencement and every day has seen banks stocks sold off.
At this rate the banks will be worthless in twelve months’ time.
Presumably once the opening sessions are completed things will die down to a daily grind, and there will also have been an element of selling the banks in line with Wall Street as US inflation fear eases and thus rate rise expectations retreat.
And there’s Bill Shorten’s hotly debated dividend policy pledge, which continues to undermine the value of high-yield large caps on the assumption Bill will be our next PM. So take your pick as to why the banks have been falling all week.