Funny: Curtain rises on Wall Street's "Taper Tantrum 2"

As Fed hints again at cutting back on its bond-buying program, investors throw a hissy fit that screams "Taper Tantrum 2."

Funny: Curtain rises on Wall Street's "Taper Tantrum 2" 1377134151000-GTY-177168523

Funny: Curtain rises on Wall Street's "Taper Tantrum 2" 1377134151000-GTY-177168523

If you missed the Wall Street financial drama Taper Tantrum this spring, starring an unfriendly Federal Reserve and spooked stock traders, don't fret. The sequel Taper Tantrum 2 is airing now and getting mixed reviews as investors again dump stocks in anticipation of the nation's central bank dialing back on its market-friendly stimulus program.

The Dow Jones industrial averaged fell 105 points Wednesday to 14,897.55, its first close below 15,000 since early July. The latest sell-off, which began after the Dow notched a record high Aug. 2, extended its losing streak to six sessions, its longest skid since July 2012.

The blue-chip stock gauge is now 4.9% below its recent peak, which matches its 4.9% pullbacks in May and June. Both pullbacks were sparked by the same risk factor: the beginning of the end of the Fed's bond-buying program, known as quantitative easing, which for the past four years has kept interest rates and mortgage rates artificially low and propelled stock prices sharply higher.

"Is (tapering) priced in? That's the big question?" says Nicholas Sargen, chief investment officer at Fort Washington Investment Advisors, adding that the market is trying to figure out what the "true value" of assets like stocks and bonds really is after years of being distorted by the Fed's asset purchases.

More: http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/markets/2013/08/21/wall-street-throws-another-taper-tantrum/2682399/

Funny: Curtain rises on Wall Street's "Taper Tantrum 2"

Funny: Curtain rises on Wall Street's "Taper Tantrum 2"

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