Stock Market Blog -Oct 31st

The market was mostly flat this week, though some 'hot' stocks continued to perform well -CMG, FFIV, IBM, PCLN, SLW, etc. October now makes two months of strong gains in the market. The GDP report on Friday however showed that we are still going nowhere in the economy.

New all time highs: AAP, AZO Auto parts! AGN, BVN, BWA, DECK, DTV, FFIV, IBM, INTU, KMX, MO, ORLY

All time low (inverse market index): QID

Highest-Yielding S&P 500 Stocks

New unemployment claims for the week dropped again, to 434,000 (chart).
This week, no banks were shut down by the FDIC! (list).

Next week: (Economic reports link). Big week -Elections on Tuesday, Fed on Wednesday! Earnings season continues, with the following companies among those reporting:

Mon	BHI, GLW
Tue	ADM, BP, CLX, COCO, MA, NEM, PRGO, PFE, TEVA,
Wed	QCOM,
Thu	DTV, KFT, SBUX,
Fri	AMT, DISH, TM

Market commentary: The market is stalled until after the elections and the Fed meeting next week. The direction of the market won't be known until we get past those events. We could see a move in the US Dollar which will affect both the equity and the commodity markets.

The S&P500 could move up to the prior April high of around 1220.

Commodities (charts):
Oil prices were mostly unchanged, closing near $81 per barrel.
Natural Gas popped, closing around $4.00.
Gold recovered some losses, closing around $1357.
The US Dollar index was mostly unchanged, closing around 77.45.
The 30 year Bond was down slightly, closing near $131.

News:
Stocks Flat With Elections, Fed on Tap Next Week
Next Week’s Must See Earnings On Deck
Biggest Week of Year for Markets Could Bring More Volatility
Stocks, Commodities Gain in October as Treasuries Decline, Dollar Weakens
GDP rises 2% in third quarter on consumer spending
Record-low mortgage rates will be gone in 2011: MBA

QE2 a ‘Ponzi scheme’, says Pimco’s Gross
JPMorgan, HSBC Accused of Manipulating Silver Futures
Gold Will Outlive Dollar Once Slaughter Comes: John Hathaway
The Fed is fuelling the catastrophe of fast rising raw material prices
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