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Friday was one of those days that a solid read from the University of Michigan took the back seat to overseas news. Mubarek is out as Egypt's president and some of the regional shares rallied. The market is still confounding the bears. Such is life.Continue reading Closing Bell: When Bulls Run the Bears Off (EGPT, APA, MNKD, EXPE, BIG, NOK, MSFT)
China raised rates and US housing prices went down yet again. We even had yet another round of fund managers outed in the ongoing waves of insider trading charges. Somehow, some way, equities in the U.S. still made gains in what will be a seven day streak. Continue reading Closing Bell: Making It Seven Days Up (CNXT, TM, TSLA, EPD, BYD, EGPT, RHB)
Two multi-billion dollar acquisitions boosted the market open this morning, as did Thomson Reuters data that 72% of S&P 500 companies that have reported earnings results so far have posted better than expected profits. Investment bank UBS also raised its target for the S&P 500 index from 1,325 to 1,425. The rise in equities has cooled crude oil prices, now down below $88/barrel. Gold is also down slightly on the strength of the equity market. In the currency markets, softness in the German manufacturing sector has sent the euro lower against the dollar. Continue reading Closing Bell: Stocks Open Strong, Stay There (LZR, PDE, YONG, CCME, OREX)
Stocks went above 12,000 on the DJIA and 1300 on the S&P 500 Index yesterday but the indexes were fighting over whether they wanted to close in the red or in the black this Wednesday. A preliminary report from ADP on employment did not do much to help out, and fresh violence between protesters in Egypt may have added some skepticism. Fortunately, Puxatawny Phil said Spring is on the way. Continue reading Closing Bell: Fighting for 12K and 1300 (EGPT, IRE, WFR, NAVI, SCON, WHR)
Despite the turmoil in the Middle East, the market powered to a 30-month high, closing above 12,000 Tuesday. The key driver was a slew of strong earnings reports. The last time we saw Dow 12,000 was on June 19, 2008. Across the board, the major averages were strong. The Dow climbed 148.23 to 12,040.16, S & P 500 rose 21.47 to 1307.59, and the NASDAQ surged 51.11 to 2751.19, as reported in the Wall Street Journal.
Here are just a few stocks that moved the Dow higher:
We are only one month into the new year and there have not been many dull moments. Games are going on in the Middle East and they are not the friendly kind. In Egypt a million plus protesters are playing a game of chicken with the Mubarak government demanding he step down from his 32-year-old reign as perpetual president.
"High-quality stocks bought at historically low-price-to-high-yield offer the best potential for downside protection and upside appreciation," says dividend specialist Kelley Wright.Continue reading The Timely 10: Best Blue Chip Dividend Buys
The DJIA poked its nose well above 12,000 this morning and may indeed close above that mark when today's session ends. There was a bit of encouraging housing news to offset a weak unemployment number, but stocks were more interesting to traders today than either oil or commodities. Crude oil traded off by about -$1.70 and closed below $86/barrel. Gold also fell today, to below $1,320.
Here are the numbers for late afternoon trading today:
Dow Jones: 11,989.83 +4.39 (0.04%)
S&P 500: 1,299.54 +2.91 (0.22%)
Nasdaq: 2,755.28 +15.78 (0.58%)
Continue reading Closing Bell: Dow Punches Through 12,000 Again (BSET, NFLX, CRUS, MMI, MUR)
Markets opened lower this morning, with the DJIA down around 70 points before noon as it pulled back from near 12,000. Earnings reports from some blue-chip stocks were lukewarm to poor, contributing to the slide. News that President Obama will propose a federal spending freeze and a ban on congressional earmarks provided a bit of an up-tick in the early afternoon, but not enough to overcome the earlier decline. Crude oil is trading below $87/barrel and gold is down -$13/oz, to $1,331.50, its lowest level in nearly three months.Two of the three major indexes opened higher on a solid earnings report from General Electric Company (GE), although a quarterly loss from Bank of America Corporation (BAC) and weak earnings from Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) kept a lid on the rise. Oil prices have continued to decline today, trading below $89.50. Gold prices, too, have posted a second-day of falling prices, though today's drop is modest compared with yesterday's dive. In the currency markets, the euro has gained against the dollar for a second day in a row.
Here are the unofficial closing bell numbers for today:
Dow Jones: 11,871.84 +49.04 (0.41%)
S&P 500: 1,283.35 +3.09 (0.24%)
Nasdaq: 2,689.54 -14.75 (-0.55%)
"The third year of the Presidential cycle has historically been the most profitable year of the cycle in terms of stock market performance," says market historian and money manager Jim Stack.
The editor of InvesTech Market Analyst explains, "This third year of the four-year cycle is often characterized by an accommodative Fed policy, and usually accompanied by a stable and growing economy.
"Characteristically, most of the third year gains come in the first half of the year where the first and second quarters are among the strongest in the entire cycle.
Continue reading Market Historian: Top Sectors for the Presidential Cycle
Is the glass half full of half empty? This is a perennial debate.
Those who are bearish say the market has gone too far to the upside; investors are shrugging off the latest debt scare in Europe; we have rising global interest rates; there's a potential meltdown in the municipal bond market; earnings may disappoint; the VIX is too low; and on and on we go.
For the bulls, the S&P 500 has traded above its 50-day moving average for 94 consecutive sessions, according to Birinyi Associates. This is the first time this has happened in five years. Many analysts consider stock valuations to be at relatively low levels. The glass for them is still half full.
Government reports that the US inflation rate came in at 1.5% for 2010 (or just 0.1% excluding energy and food prices) produced little enthusiasm in the markets. Even a 0.4% increase in retail sales during the holiday season didn't give traders a push. Probably because they were expecting better. Both oil and gold prices have fallen today, and the dollar is slipping against the euro as currency traders judge that US consumers just don't have the heart to spend in a big way. US markets are closed Monday in observance of the birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr.
Here are the numbers for early afternoon trading today:
Dow Jones: 11,787.38 +55.48 (0.47%)
S&P 500: 1,293.24 +9.48 (0.74%)
Nasdaq: 2,755.30 +20.01 (0.73%)
Noble Corp. (NE - option chain) shares are rising today after Standard & Poor's, a unit of McGraw-Hill (MHP), announced NE will be added to its S&P 500 Index after the close of trading on Friday, replacing QLogic (QLGC). Addition to this index means that all the funds that track the index will need to add NE to their holdings, which is usually a positive thing for the stock. If you think that the stock won't fall by too much in the coming months, then now could be a good time to look at a bullish hedged trade on NE.Equity markets opened slightly lower this morning and have wobbled back up somewhat, with the NASDAQ off just 0.01%, the S&P 500 index off -0.27%, and the DJIA down -0.44% about an hour before the markets close for the day. The euro sunk to a near four-month low to the US dollar on yet more fears about Portugal's sovereign debt. Gold has gained nearly 4% today and oil is up 1.26% on supply concerns due to the shutdown of the Alaska pipeline, which delivers 630,000 barrels/day to the lower 48 states.Here are the numbers for late afternoon trading today:
Dow Jones: 11,637.37 -37.39 (-0.32%)
S&P 500: 1,269.75 -1.75 (-0.14%)
Nasdaq: 2,707.80 +4.63 (0.17%)
Continue reading Closing Bell: Stocks Lower as Investors Await Earnings
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