Alternative Market Briefing

Wall St ends day flat as New York starts post Storm Sandy recovery

Thursday, November 01, 2012

by Beverly Chandler, Opalesque London:

US stocks ended the day largely flat after the two day market suspension due to the attentions of Storm Sandy on the north eastern corner of the US this week. The iconic opening bell for the New York Stock Exchange was rung by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg as the exchange re-opened on Wednesday 31st October, having been closed for the longest time due to the weather since 1888.

The re-opening of this and other American exchanges left asset managers with just one day instead of three to balance their books for the end of the month and, for more than 20% of US mutual funds, to balance their books before the end of their fiscal year, according to Morningstar Inc.

Many hedge funds have their physical presence in Connecticut which was hit by the storm but appears to have survived with power at the least and intermittent connectivity in telephone and internet. A speaker at the Opalesque Roundtable Connecticut, Dr. Hanming Rao, Chief Investment Officer, Global Sigma Group, informed Opalesque that their office was functional and they expected to get their monthly update out within the week.

While other hedge fund firms emerged to report that their offices and disaster recovery plans were working, concerns were high regarding what would happen when the markets reopened. Criticism was levied at the US exchanges, described as 'the la......................

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