Stock Market Update -Mar 28th

The market was up a bit this week after pulling back last Friday on Options expiration. This quarter we have seen a rollercoaster ride down in January, then back up in February, for a small overall net gain (depending on the index).



New unemployment claims were down, coming in at 442,000.
This week four more banks were shutdown by the FDIC! (list).

Next week: We get the usual economic reports, along with the much anticipated jobs report on Friday (however the stock market will be closed on Friday). The Fed's trillion dollar mortgage purchase program also comes to an end on Wednesday.

Market commentary: Overall the S&P500 could start to top out at this level. The 1st quarter also comes to an end this Wednesday, which could subsequently give way to some selling/profit taking. We could revisit Thursday's high and then pull back -seems like a lot of technical indicators are lined up for a reversal here.

Commodities:
Oil prices closed the week just over $80 per barrel.
Natural Gas dropped again, closing just under $4.00. We could see a reversal next week as the current futures contract ends trading.
Gold prices were mostly unchanged, closing around $1109.
The US Dollar index was up, closing around 82.
The 30 year Bond price dropped, closing around $115.

News:
U.S. Dollar Breaks Out
10-Year Treasury Yields Break Out
U.S. Growth in 4th Quarter Revised Slightly Lower
Sales of New U.S. Homes Dropped in February to Lowest on Record
Ambac Unit Now Essentially Junk -remember Ambac?
Another Analyst Chimes In On Chinese Solar