Mostly absent from August was the mechanical upward march that sent equities to 30 record closes this year. In its place was a more typical back-and-forth, arguably befitting a market where valuations are stretched and alert levels are rising. Stocks fell more than 1 per cent on both Aug. 17 and Aug. 10. Put contracts on the largest exchange-traded fund tied to the S&P 500 outnumber calls by 2-to-1.The outcome of the Federal Reserve’s meeting and debt-ceiling discussions are among events that could push the index lower from its near-record high. “There will be more tension as everyone will be trying to figure out when is the right time to sell.”

Source: Economic Times September 02, 2017 09:56 UTC