Well as much as anything, it's in a longer term down trend and has been consolidating for a few days (excluding last weeks spike down) and simply it broke out to the downside of that consolidation, takes out the stops, brings in new shorts and off we go. Happy days!
Bernanke, but I didn't see any gaps, are you sure it wasn't just your charts? Also.... ....the U.S. currency recovered against the euro after higher than expected German PPI data. Gold prices fell nearly 8 percent last week as investors sold the precious metal to cover losses on the equity and other markets, and as oil prices slipped and the dollar stayed firm. Some traders also said the payout on failed Lehman Brothers' credit default swaps on Tuesday may have prompted some dollar-buying and had become a factor late in the session. NEWS - Fed's Bernanke says another wave of government spending may be needed, explicitly endorsing second stimulus package for first time - The three-month Libor rate falls most in single day since January - U.S. stocks up more than 3 percent, European stocks close nearly 4 percent higher - European banks line up to tap state rescue packages - Canada to announce measures this week to help domestic banks keep up with foreign competitors that are benefiting from government bailouts and guarantees QUOTES - "With the economy likely to be weak for several quarters, and with some risk of a protracted slowdown, consideration of a fiscal package by the Congress at this juncture seems appropriate," - Bernanke told a congressional panel. - "There's a perception that the credit squeeze could be beginning to abate thanks to measures from global authorities over the past few weeks." - Philip Shaw, chief economist at Investec. - "It is likely to take multiple years to repair the damage that has been done. This is not going to get better in three to six months." - John Thain, Merrill Lynch chief executive. - "Our purpose is to increase confidence in our banks and increase the confidence of our banks, so that they will deploy, not hoard, their capital. And we expect then to do so, as increased confidence will lead to increased lending," - U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson in statement COMING EVENTS TUESDAY - Canada central bank key policy interest rate announcement - Consumer price inflation in New Zealand WEDNESDAY - Japanese trade data for September. - Bank of England publishes minutes of policy meeting. - Swedish central bank meets on monetary policy.