Stock Market Blog -Jan 6th

The market started us off with a Happy New Year rally, thanks to the fiscal cliff being pushed off to the side for now. The Small Cap Russell 2000 reached an all time high! We are at a resistance point here in the S&P500, so we could see a pullback. Earnings reports next week will probably be the  determining factor. The Dollar was up too, which normally causes stocks to fall.

Bonds and Gold sold off. I think this gives us another opportunity to buy Gold at these levels.

New all time highs:  AGN, CVS, CELG, EXPE, HRL, URBN
All time lows: ?
Pops:   HRL
Drops: FDO, UNH, MLNX

Next week: Economic reports  

Earnings reports:
Mon -
Tue -AA, MON
Wed -
Thu -
Fri -WFC

Market Commentary

Now that the fiscal cliff news is over, the next market catalyst will be earnings reports over the next few weeks. We could break above resistance on the S&P500, or bounce off. Maybe take a position, and use a close stop, or wait for the trend to develop. With earnings coming up, volatility typically rises on individual stocks, presenting better opportunities with Options plays.  Volatility is also very low on the overall market, possibly hinting at a turnaround in this rally.

This week's charts:

Weekly Unemployment claims
S&P 500 ...resistance top?
OptionsMakeSense

6 month Sector performance  -Financials leading

Commodities/Futures (charts):
Crude Oil was up, closing near $93.09
Natural Gas was down, closing near $3.29
Gold dropped again, closing near $1649
The 30 year Bond was down, closing near $144.50
The US Dollar was up, closing near 80.61

NEWS:
Friday: Dow Up 500 Points To Start The Year - Should We Quit While We're Ahead?
Market Has a Big 2013 Open, Now Brace for Earnings
Week Ahead: No Cliff, But Earnings and Housing Data
End of Stimulus? What's Behind Fed's Surprise Statement
The Worst Performing Large Cap Stocks of 2012 


Stock market will blindside investors in 2013
Stocks to soar as world money catches fire, Calvinst Europe left behind
Is The Bond Rally Over?
Beware the bond bubble in 2013
Buy Sony Hand Over Fist
Google Emerges Largely Unscathed From a Government Investigation Into Its Competitive Practices