Stocks traded on the stock market are known to fluctuate based on any

­Yeah, that was my second choice too, but I guess I misinterpreted it. What does even E mean? Does it suggest that the company is reporting higher earnings independent of the strength of the macro economy, but due to pressure from the labour unions? If that is so, then option E seems more reasonable than B.

IDK IMO B

why E ? According to me E means the company UA has to share the profits with the labor union workers... but how does it is anyways related to stock market this is their internal matter not sure what I am missing here

So particularly in case of E it will affect UA's stock price but not the overall market as per the conclusion

­So Many is not countable lets say there are 500 stocks of automobile listed on exchange , here many can be 100 or even 300 but we dont know so we cant conclude . 

­We're looking to weaken the conclusion that "the overall stock market will be up sharply today."

C says "Stock prices have been fluctuating more dramatically this year than in the previous five years." This could weaken the argument, if stock prices fluctuate dramatically downward (but this seems to ignore the premise that good news from harbinger companies tends to cause the market to fluctuate *upwards*). But C could also *strengthen* the argument, if the stock prices were to fluctuate dramatically *upward*. I would argue, since we know something has happened that often causes stock prices to fluctuate upward, and since C says the fluctuations have been dramatic this year, C *strengthens* the argument, if anything.

However, I also think C is irrelevant. How dramatic the fluctuations have been this year compared to the last five years doesn't tell me much about whether or not they will fluctuate upward today, after the news of this harbinger company's earnings.

 

­STK = Fluc on news on Eco.
Harb : Earning+ = Eco Healthy, Other Cos. will follow ->Incr stk pr in future.
Today Mor : UA , earning + ===========>Stk mkt will rise.

Argument : UA's earnings increase last quarter over prev quarter will result in overall stock market improving.

Weaken : Anything which states UAs earning doesn't reflect overall index improving , ie UAs improved financial results is very unique to itself and doesn'  reflect entire economies performance.

(A) Not hearing - Out of scope and irrelevant.

(B) Hmm, talks -ve about economy, affecting entire stock index, keep for now.

(C) OK, but how does it affect out argument ? 

(D) Hmmm, this is very unique to UA...

(E) very strong labor union - Not useful....


The question asks to identify MOST. Hence, we observe that option (B) is a Mcroscopic and (D) is microscopic view....

(B) affects entire industry at large , hence this must be correct over (D), Hence IMHO (B)

­

KAPLAN OFFICIAL EXPLANATION:

The words “weakens the argument above” indicate that this is a Weaken question.

Untangle the Stimulus:

The conclusion of this argument is signified by the author's use of the word 'therefore'. The author is arguing that the stock market will be up today. As evidence the author notes that the market responds to news about the strength of the economy and that one of the harbinger companies, which are taken as indicators of economic strength, announced positive earnings news this morning. Note that harbinger companies are just one source of news. The author is assuming that no negative news has come out from other sources at the same time, to counteract the positive news from United Automobiles.

Predict the Answer:

To weaken this argument, the correct answer will suggest that other, negative news about the economy has come out to counteract the positive news from United automobiles. This could be news from another harbinger company, or news from some other source.

Evaluate the Choices:

(B), the correct answer, describes other news that gives a clear indication that the economy might not be as strong as is indicated by United Automobiles' financial results. If interest goes up, the stock market might not increase despite the good news from United.

(A) is irrelevant. The fact that some owners of United Autos stock do not yet know the news would not impair others from bidding up the value of the overall stock market.

(C) is also irrelevant. There's not enough information to know if the increased fluctuation is reason to believe that this current news will or will not result in an increase in stock prices.

(D) simply explains why the earnings are up; it doesn't give any more information on the strength of the economy, so it has no effect on the argument.

(E) may be tempting, but it is ultimately irrelevant. What United actually does with its increased earnings has no bearing on the argument, which says that the increased earnings themselves indicate economic strength.

TAKEAWAY: When an argument allows for multiple factors to affect an outcome, and evidence of only one of these factors is given, the author may be overlooking the effect of other factors.­