Clinton-Trump debate showdown carries potential to sock stocks

Market Watch ^ | Sept 24, 2016 8:30 a.m. ET | Wallace Witkowski

[expat_panama]

Will the gloves come off Monday, and the wheels fall off stocks Tuesday?

Investors will be keeping a close eye on the first of the presidential debates between Democrat nominee Hillary Clinton and GOP nominee Donald Trump for signs of a momentum shift in the heated race.

The outcome from the head-to-head matchup carries the potential to deliver a jolt to U.S. equity markets coming off closely watched policy decisions by central bankers.

Stocks finished the week higher, even with a Friday downturn...

...the debate may be, outside of another important meeting of major oil producers, the most important event of the week.

The first presidential debate between Clinton and Trump takes place Monday night at Hofstra University.

In a recent McClatchy-Marist poll, Clinton leads Trump by 48% to 41% in a two-way race, and 45% to 39% when including Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson and Green party candidate...

...“Market reaction will probably depend on how successful each candidate is in demonizing the other’s proposals, and how effective each is in his or her own defense,” McMillan said.

Outperformance by one candidate over the other could even have sector-specific ramifications, according to Chris Zaccarelli, chief investment officer at Cornerstone Financial Partners.

“For example, if Donald Trump is perceived to have had the better performance then I would expect the biotech subsector to outperform on Tuesday,” Zaccarelli said. “Conversely, if Hillary Clinton is perceived to have had the better performance then I would expect that area of the market to underperform.” ...

...Not everyone is convinced, however, that the debates have the potential to spook stock investors...

[Sacajaweau]

Pleez....If the dabat makes a difference....then it will be typical market manipulation.

[Caipirabob]

Exactly, we all know the drill from the McCain debacle. Anyone who hasn’t prepared is a fool.

[expat_panama]

A Happy Monday Morning to everyone!   Last Friday's losses may have been slight (-0.6%), in lower trade volume too, but this morning's futures markets point to an acceleration to -0.66% across the board.   Metals are down too --in fact just about everything is down  today! Got to be the debates; like, the only econ stat is New Home Sales just after the bell.

In other news:

Couples Happier When They Talk Money - Rodney Brooks,Washington Post
Reasons Why Middle Class In Serious Trouble - Sean Williams,Motley Fool
Why 'Bernie' Clinton's Tax Plan Will Fail - Steve Moore, Washington Times
Still Some Big Holes In Trump's Growth Plan - Rob Garver, Fiscal Times
Negative Interest Rates Aren't Working - Paul Kupiec & Alex Pollock, RCM
Evidence of Macroeconomist Failure Piling Up - Allister Heath, Telegraph
Ask Not What Your Corp. Can Do For You - Hessler-Radelet & Litow, USAT
Your Neighborhood 1 Percenters May Not Be Rich - Frank & Russell, NYT
Obamacare's Death Spiral Has Begun - Luke Hilgemann, Investor's Business
Peddlers of Warming Catastrophe Are True Deniers - John Tamny, Forbes

[MeneMeneTekelUpharsin]

Lots of lies. The truth is (and watch, you’ll see), the big boys have already paid for money-making schemes with the Democrats. IF it looks like Trump is actually going to win this election, the UNCERTAINTY of what he will be able to get done is going to cause the financial markets here, at least, to turn sharply downward. This is because NEW alliances for making money will have to be set up and that is a long, costly process.

[Liz]

......the big boys have already bought and paid off the Democrats for their continuing insider help; the UNCERTAINTY of a Trump win could cause financial markets to turn sharply downward......

I say the opposite could happen. The market could soar. Trump is a businessman....he knows how the market works. He knows financing like the back of his hand.

If, as you suggest, NEW political alliances for making money will have to be set up, that is also a plus.

[redfreedom]

If the wheels fall off Tuesday, a few days later they will be back on again. The market is always up and down, sometimes more erratic than others. Years ago I learned not to react to it, just keep a steady course.

[expat_panama]

...learned not to react to it, just keep a steady course.

That's not an easy thing to remember during the sever downturns that happen every five or ten years.  Sure it's easy to look back and say that Mar. 09 was a fantastic buying opp., but in Feb. 09 folks were buying only to end up losing yet another 25%. 

[BipolarBob]

So I’m the only one shorting the market? I bought TZA and SQQQ Friday. It’s the only thing up in my account today. I’ll probably sell them Tues. morning.