Stock Market Blog -Dec 23rd

The market rallied earlier in the week, but sold off as the fiscal cliff issue was still unresolved. AAPL closed near recent lows, and appears to be trying to form a bottom. Bonds sold off , but may also be finding support at this level. Likewise for Gold -it continues to sell off, but it may also be near a support level.

Interesting news: The NYSE (New York Stock Exchange) is being acquired by the ICE (InterContinental Exchange).

Happy Holidays to everyone!

New all time highs:   CCI, COG, SBAC
All time lows: ?
Pops:   NYX, NKE
Drops: BBBY, HLF, RIMM, YUM

 
Next week: Economic reports  
Markets close early on Monday, and all day Tuesday for Christmas.

Market Commentary

The coming week will probably see light trading, except maybe for some 'fiscal cliff' moves. The up-trend from late November is still intact.

This week's charts:

Weekly Unemployment claims
S&P 500 ?...depends on the cliff!
OptionsMakeSense

Commodities/Futures (charts):
Crude Oil was up a bit, closing near $88.66
Natural Gas was up, closing near $3.45
Gold dropped again, closing near $1660
The 30 year Bond dropped, closing near $147.53
The US Dollar dropped a bit, closing near 79.71

NEWS:
Nike shares pop on strong sales
Behind Apple’s Big Stock Decline
Mutual dislike as stock funds see record outflows
Munis take worst pounding since Meredith Whitney
How to invest for the aging-U.S. trend

2013 may look a lot like 2012
Is the Bond Market Starting to Fight the Fed?
Newsweek ends its 80-year print run with a hashtagged cover
2013 Outlook for Gold and Silver: Risk in Gold, the Devil’s Metal Shines
Japan's Shinzo Abe prepares to print money for the whole world