Stock Market Blog -May 22nd

Stocks were mixed for the week, making little progress overall. The chart below shows that the S&P500 is still near the 1340 level it hit in February. Caution would be advised for short term investors; for the long term, the up-trend is still intact (see 2nd chart below).

One bright spot, maybe, was the IPO for LinkedIn which opened at $45, shot up to $122, and closed on Friday around $93. Anyone remember 1999 -the 'dot-com' era?

Pops this week: CRM
Drops: ARUN, GPS, HPQ, SPLS
New all time highs: MCD, MO, XLP

The long term trend is still intact (well above the 200 day moving average)

New unemployment claims dropped to 409,000 (chart).
This week, three more banks were shut down by the FDIC! (list).

Next week: (Economic reports link). Earnings: CPB, AMAT, NTAP

Market commentary: The market still seems weak, hovering at the 1340 price level on the S&P500! Bond prices are going up, and the US Dollar is rising. As the chart below shows the correlation, the market will probably drop some more if the US Dollar continues to rally.

This Chart Says It All

Commodities (charts):
Oil prices were mostly flat, closing around $99.50 per barrel
Natural Gas was mostly unchanged, closing near $4.23.
Gold was up, closing near $1508.
Silver closed around $35
The 30 year Bond was mostly unchanged, closing near $124'27.
The US Dollar was mostly unchanged, closing near 75.57.
Corn and Wheat were both up

News:
Stock investors worry: Is ride getting rougher?
Treasurys add to week’s gains on Europe worries
US dips into pension funds as debt limit hit
A Shovel-Empty Waste Of $787 Billion
Pop till you drop (LinkedIn IPO)
Midcaps: The market's 'sweet spot'
Nasdaq Deja Vu
Meaningless ‘strong dollar’

Overseas
Fitch cuts Greece, warns against ‘re-profiling’
In Spain, protesters rally a battered nation