Stock Market Blog -Jul 28th

The market pulled back a bit this week as many companies reported earnings. We'll get another indication of direction next week as more companies report. Gold continued to climb, while Bond prices seem to be edging up.

Earnings Pops: FB, BIDU, SBUX, TRIP, VMW
Earnings Drops: CROX, EXPE, SWI

New all time highs:   AMZN, CELG, DLPH, ESRX, GILD, JNJ, OCN, SE, SBUX, TRIP, MYL,
All time lows:  --

Hope you were on the right side of one of these!

Next week: Economic reports Fed meeting and Monthly Jobs report.
Upcoming Earnings reports:  
Mon -HLF
Tue -DDD, MRK, PFE
Wed -MA, WFM
Thu -BP, LNKD, PG, XOM
Fri -CVX

Market Commentary

 
Big week coming up -Fed meeting, monthly Jobs report, GDP, and more earnings! The market looks 'toppy' here and just needs a catalyst or it to roll over, so be careful.

This week's charts:

Weekly Unemployment claims
S&P 500 -topping?

Commodities/Futures (charts):
Crude Oil was down, closing near $104.70 -still over $100!
Natural Gas was down, closing near $3.55
Gold was up again, closing at $1321
The 30 year Bond was down, closing near $134.72
The US Dollar dropped a bit, closing near 81.77

NEWS:
Dow recovers from 150-point drop to log 5-week win streak
Earnings week ahead: Media and oil giants in focus
(Vid) Amazon stock still worth owning: Pro
Google's $35 Chromecast vs. the $100 Apple TV
Is Meredith Whitney finally right about muni bonds? 
JPMorgan quits physical commodities business

Stock Market Blog -Jul 21st

This week, the city of Detroit filed for bankruptcy. Meanwhile, the market continued to rally, in spite of missed earnings from a number of large tech companies. Next week we'll be flooded with more earnings reports -watch for possible market volatility. Also note that Bond prices have been moving up over the past two weeks.

MSFT had its biggest earnings miss in 12 years. IBM, INTC, MSFT, GOOG -big tech stocks' earnings have been somewhat disappointing so far. I'm guessing we'll see more of the same from AAPL and FB next week. ISRG and EBAY also dropped after reporting earnings.

On the positive side, GE, CMG, SLB, and YHOO rallied after reporting earnings.

New all time highs:   APC, COP, CVS, JNJ, GILD, HON, MMM, WFC, UNH, UTX, STX, WDC
All time lows:  --

Next week: Economic reports 
Upcoming Earnings reports:  
Mon -MCD, NFLX, HAL, TXN
Tue -AAPL, DD, MO, T, UPS, UTX,
Wed -BA, BIDU, CAT, F, FB, LLY, PEP, QCOM, V
Thu -AMZN, CELG, CL, BIIB, BMY, GILD, MMM, SBUX
Fri -

Market Commentary

 

Watch for market reaction to earnings this week, the busiest week for earnings, including AAPL, FB, NFLX, and AMZN. I still think the risk is to the downside here. Also Gold has been steadily recovering from the recent lows of under $1200.

This week's charts:

Weekly Unemployment claims
S&P 500 -still moving up

Commodities/Futures (charts):
Crude Oil was up again, closing near $108.05 -still over $100!
Natural Gas was up, closing near $3.79
Gold was up, closing at $1293
The 30 year Bond was up, closing near $135.50
The US Dollar dropped a bit, closing near 82.71

NEWS:
Dow, S&P 500 end 4th winning week
Jobless Claims See Largest Weekly Drop Since April
Key Earnings Reports Next Week
Earnings reports could shut down the tech surge

Gold settles at one-month high amid US stimulus hopes
Oil -Brent-WTI Spread Approaches Parity
Detroit files for bankruptcy
Detroit bankruptcy could hit millions of retirees

Stock Market Blog -Jul 14th

The market continues up, maybe to a double top?

New all time highs:  
All time lows:  --
Pops:  , -Drops:  ,

Next week: Economic reports 
Upcoming Earnings reports: 
CMG, IBM, INTC, GOOG, GE, MSFT, YHOO

Market Commentary

 
Looks like we did re-visit the mid-June highs! Where we go from here, I think will depend primarily on how the market reacts to the earnings reports.

This week's charts:

Weekly Unemployment claims
S&P 500 -still moving up

Commodities/Futures (charts):
Crude Oil was up, closing near $105.95 -still over $100!
Natural Gas was flat, closing near $3.64
Gold moved back up, closing at $1277
The 30 year Bond was up, closing near $133.94
The US Dollar dropped, closing near 83.16

NEWS:
Surprise! Huge US budget surplus shatters record

Stock Market Blog -Jul 7th

The week was positive for the market, with some help from the monthly Jobs report on Friday. Bonds and Gold continued to drop. Oil prices were up after the tensions and overthrow of the government in Egypt. Things seem to be stirring up in Europe again too (financial matters that is...), while China seems to be slowing down.

New all time highs:   DFS, DLPH, STX, SBUX, V, WFM
All time lows:  -- NBG
Pops:  , -Drops:  ,

Next week: Economic reports 
Upcoming Earnings reports:   AA, JPM, WFC, YUM

Market Commentary

 
The market rallied after the Jobs report, and got over the congestion level, so we could see more up-side. If the rally continues this week, we'll probably re-visit the mid-June highs again. Earnings reports will be the next catalyst for the markets.

This week's charts:

Weekly Unemployment claims
S&P 500 -moving up

Commodities/Futures (charts):
Crude Oil was up, closing near $103.22 -over $100!
Natural Gas was flat, closing near $3.61
Gold plunged again, closing at $1212
The 30 year Bond dropped again, closing near $132.65!
The US Dollar rallied, closing near 84.69

NEWS:
Stocks Surge 1% on Strong Jobs Report; Dow Reclaims 15,000 Level
Yields Soar as US Jobs Data Stokes Fed Fears
How Much Pain Will Bond Investors Tolerate?
One Eye on Earnings, the Other on Bonds
Don’t Get Too Excited About Today’s Jobs Data