Stock Market Blog -Oct 23rd

Just as I anticipated last week in my comments, good earnings (and I think Options expiration) gave the market a boost this week (bank earnings were not good though). Next week we get a barrage of more earnings reports. Gold sold off some more this week, while Bonds were flat, and Technology was weak. The European/Greece crisis continues...  Consumer spending was up, a good sign. China growth was down.

AAPL dropped after missing earnings for the first time in many years! AAPL was also 'down' on Friday, while the market had a big rally -not a good sign for Apple.

McDonalds closed at an all time high again!
Other new all time highs:  BBBY, DUK, MCD, NUAN, QCOR,
Drops: CROX, GMCR

New Unemployment Claims were up, coming in at 403,000 (chart)
This week, four more banks were shut down by the FDIC (list)

Next week: Economic reports 
Earnings season continues, with the following companies among those reporting:

MON: AMGN, CAT, NFLX, TXN
TUE:  AMZN, DD, MMM, UPS
WED: BA, COP, F, S, V
THU:  BMY, MO, PG, XOM
FRI: BIIB, CVX, MRK, NEM

Market Commentary

The current rally may be running out of steam. The catalyst for next week's move will be earnings, and news from Europe. This rally could work its way up to around the 1250 level on the S&P500 before pulling back. Interestingly, the DOW is leading the other indexes right now.

Last week's comment: "Watch for a potential top in IBM" -well, we got it!

This week's charts:
CROX bites the dust!
AAPL may have seen its last high

Commodities (charts):
Oil prices were up, closing around $87.40
Natural gas is in a trading range, closing near $3.63
Gold dropped, closing near $1636
The 30 year Bond futures were flat, closing near $138.50
The US Dollar was down, closing near 76.67

NEWS:
Stocks rise sharply on solid corporate earnings
Hedge Funds Have Fourth-Worst Quarter on Record
U.S. rating likely to be downgraded again: Merrill

Lowe’s will close 20 stores, cut 1,950 jobs...
Average length of unemployment now at 60-year high
October 5th 2011. The day Apple died.

Why the Commodities Selloff May Be Nearing an End
European Union looks to recapitalize banks
EU bank failures will crash Wall Street — again
Obama announces full American military withdrawal from Iraq