Stock Market Blog -Apr 22nd

We got a big unexpected rally on Tuesday, but gave back a lot of it by Friday. AAPL continued to show weakness, even on days when the market was up. They report earnings next Tuesday. MSFT and EBAY popped after reporting earnings. Also, troubles in Europe are starting to disrupt markets again.



New all time highs:  ABV, CB, CL, DISCA, DLTR, FDO, DKS, KMB, MO, ORLY, SBH, SPG, TSCO, UA,  YUM
All time lows:  UNG
Pops: EBAY, HGSI, ISRG, MSFT
Drops: AAPL, INTU, QCOM, RVBD, SNDK

Next week: Economic reports
We have a Fed meeting next week, though little is expected from it. Earnings season continues next week. Among the companies reporting are:

Mon: COP NFLX TXN
Tue:  T MMM AAPL AMGN BIDU
Wed: BA CAT
Thu:  AMZN XOM RDS.A SBUX
Fri:  CVX MRK PG


Market Commentary

Earnings will continue to drive market direction next week, especially with AAPL reporting on Tuesday. The Nasdaq and the Russell small-caps have been weak, but it's difficult to predict market direction at this point. We could be forming a bear flag pattern. On the other hand, if the SPX can close above the 1390 level, we could see some more bullish action.

This week's charts:
Weekly Unemployment claims
S&P 500 -has the correction started?
WMT -5 year high; double top?

 NOK -will they recover with Microsoft?

Commodities/Futures (charts):
Oil prices were up, closing near $103.88
Natural Gas is still dropping, closing near $1.93
Gold was down, closing near $1643
30 year Bond futures were up, closing near $141.97
The US Dollar was down, closing near 79.32

NEWS:
Stocks End Mixed, Nasdaq Logs 3rd Weekly Loss
U.S. Stocks End Two-Week Slump, Led Higher by Defensive Shares
Earnings Deluge, Europe Will Drive the Market in Week Ahead
'Bad Goldilocks' Economy Puts Fed, Markets in a Box
Once-Mighty Apple Stock Plunges Over 10% in 10 Days
Microsoft Profit Tops Estimates on Corporate Demand

Could $1 Trillion student loan debt derail U.S. recovery?
Big Banks: Now Even Too Bigger to Fail
Euro Rises, Pound Lifts, Yen Awaits the Bank of Japan
The euro crisis is back, and resolving it is not getting any easier
Swimming naked in Brazil's bubbly waters
China's Drag on Commodity Markets

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