Stock Market Blog -Dec 28th

This was another good week for the markets. The Russell 2000 (small-caps) closed at an all time high, and looks poised to move even higher! The S&P500 and the DOW also closed at an all time high. The NASDAQ needs to catch up and probably will. Also the S&P500 will probably take out the 2100 level, since its so close -all short term bullish signs.  We also got a great GDP report revision (5%).

New all time highs:   AEP, CVS, CMCSA, DIS, D, ED, ESRX, FTNT, KMI, SO, TGT, V, VA, 
All time lows:   

Pops:        Drops:   

Next week:  Economic reports,   

Earnings:     

This week's charts:

S&P 500 -new all time high again!
10yr Interest Rates
Labor Force Participation Rate (10 year chart)

Commodities/Futures (charts):
Crude Oil was down, closing near $54.73  

Natural Gas dropped, closing at $3.00
Gold was down a bit, closing near 1195 

The 30 year Bond dropped a bit, closing near 143.38

The US Dollar was up, closing at 90.31 -now over 90, and the 2010 high

NEWS:

Forget Dow 18,000. It’s small caps' turn now
Record $36.5 billion flows into US-based funds in week: Lipper
US consumer spending rises solidly
Natgas prices briefly break below $3; down 30% in a month
Cramer clarifies the 401(k), IRA, Roth mystery

Stock Market Blog -Dec 21st

The market rallied strong after the Fed meeting on Wednesday, catching most people by surprise. We could see this rally continue to finish off the year, and as 'short' positions are covered. Next week could be a light trading week because of the Christmas holiday.

There are still good trading opportunities using Options, because Implied Volatility is still somewhat elevated. Credit Spreads and Iron Condors would be appropriate trades.

New all time highs:   ABT, ACN, ALL, AET, BIIB, CL, CVS, DG, HD, HON, ISIS, MMM, PG, PNC, TJX, UNH, UPS, STX, WDC, etc.
All time lows:   ARCO

Pops:     ORCL,   Drops:   

Next week:  Economic reports,   

Earnings:     WAG, 

This week's charts:

S&P 500 -
10yr Interest Rates
Labor Force Participation Rate (10 year chart)

Commodities/Futures (charts):
Crude Oil was mostly unchanged, closing near $57.13  

Natural Gas dropped a bit, closing at $3.46
Gold was down a bit, closing near 1196 

The 30 year Bond dropped a bit, closing near 144.31

The US Dollar was up, closing at 89.84

NEWS:

Biggest weekly gain in nearly two years for S&P 500

Chart of the Day - Biotech stocks in a strong uptrend

Frothy.com: Is Part II of the Dotcom Crash Coming?
China’s stock market goes boom
The sun is setting on the emerging market miracle
For the West, Russia Has Become Too Big to Fail

Why Russia's crisis could have a ripple effect

Stock Market Blog -Dec 14th

Bad week in the markets, both for stocks and Oil.  Bonds surged, sending interest rates lower.

Outlook: The market broke for the first time since the mid-October rally. It's pretty much at a support level here so we could see a bounce next week, especially since its expiration week which tends to have a bullish bias. Using Options, opportunities might exist in selling high volatility puts or put spreads.

New all time highs:   AAP, ADBE, BKW, THI, DAL, HUM, ORLY, TJX, UAL
All time lows:   ABEV, AU, PWE

Pops:     ADBE, LULU,   Drops:   

Next week:  Economic reports,   

Earnings:     FDX, NKE, ORCL

This week's charts:

S&P 500 -
10yr Interest Rates
Labor Force Participation Rate (10 year chart)

Commodities/Futures (charts):
Crude Oil dropped again, closing near $57.80  -looks like it's still dropping further

Natural Gas was unchanged, closing at $3.80
Gold was up, closing near 1222 -finally over $1200!

The 30 year Bond rallied, closing near 145.18

The US Dollar dropped, closing at 88.34

NEWS:

Oil hits stocks; worst week of 2014 for Dow, S&P 500 (vid)
Dow drops 300 points as US stocks plunge
Week Ahead: FOMC Minutes and Fed Speeches
Louise Yamada: Here’s how far the S&P will fall
IBD 50: Growth Stocks Fight The Fight In Weak Tape
The Biggest U.S. Tech IPO Of The Year Went Nuts Today
The silent crash in commodities—a warning sign

Stock Market Blog -Dec 7th

Another week, another new high in the markets! We also got a good Monthly Jobs report on Friday, with over 300,000 new jobs added. Cyber Monday sales were up, and Oil prices continued to drop. 

This marks 7 straight weeks of gains in the market! Is it time to take profits yet?? I think we'll see the NASDAQ return to its 2000 highs before we see a meaningful pullback . We're pretty close, 14 years later!

Newsflash! Yeaaay... we are now more than $18,000,000,000,000 in debt ($18 trillion)

New all time highs:   DIS, FOX, EXPE, DAL, UAL, HLT, AET, HUM, JPM, LOW, MA, V, MDT, RCL, SBUX, THI, WFT, and more...
All time lows:   ??

Pops:    AVGO, BIIB, CY    Drops:   ARO, BIG

Next week:  Economic reports,   

Earnings:     AZO, CIEN, COST, LULU

This week's charts:

S&P 500 -
10yr Interest Rates
Labor Force Participation Rate (10 year chart)

Commodities/Futures (charts):
Crude Oil dropped a bit, closing near $66  -looks like it's dropping further

Natural Gas dropped, closing at $3.80
Gold was up, closing near 1190 -still under $1200!

The 30 year Bond dropped, closing near 141.50

The US Dollar was up again, closing at 89.36

NEWS:

Market Wrap: Buoyed by Jobs Report, Stocks End Week Higher
Employers Add 321,000 Jobs, Most in Nearly 3 Years
Google Has Major Headaches Going into 2015 Because of Apple, Facebook
Chromebooks now more popular than iPads in U.S. schools
Why Even Apple Is Surprised by the Enormous Demand for the iPhone 6
Why One Facebook Bull Expects the Social Network to Be Worth Nearly $300 Billion
Dear Microsoft: Why does Outlook 2013 cost $110?

Why Disney's Big This Holiday Season -- and Next Year, Too
Sears' Quarterly Loss Was Ugly -- and the Outlook Isn't Any Better
International lending to China soars in 2014: BIS

NASA's New Horizons spacecraft is awake and cruising toward Pluto

Stock Market weekend update -Nov 30th

The market continued to run up with the NASDAQ leading the way, though we saw a small drop on Friday. Lots of new all time Highs again...

Bonds have been creeping up. Oil dropped again this week.

New all time highs:   CELG, DAL, DIS, LUV, UAL, HD, K, M, MA, NKE, PEP, PG, TGT, TJX, DLTR, FDX, UPS, V, UNH, WFC, WMT, etc.
All time lows:   SD, PWE, PGH...

Pops:  WMT, retailers       Drops:   XOM, CVX, energy...

Next week:  Economic reports,   Monthly Jobs report!

Earnings:     

This week's charts:

S&P 500 -
10yr Interest Rates
Labor Force Participation Rate (10 year chart)

Commodities/Futures (charts):
Crude Oil dropped, closing near $66  -looks like it's dropping further

Natural Gas dropped a bit, closing near $4.1
Gold dropped, closing near 1175 -still under $1200!

The 30 year Bond was up  a bit, closing near 142.50

The US Dollar unchanged, closing at 88.40

NEWS:

Black Friday turns red as sales plunge: NRF
The concerning bond trend that could rule 2015
Can oil fall all the way to $40?
Nightmare day for oil stocks (vid)
WHO: Ebola Toll Leaps Higher to Nearly 7,000 in West Africa

Stock Market Weekend Update -Nov 23rd

Another week, another record high in the markets (S&P500) -we have had a non-stop rally since mid-October! Lots of new all-time highs (below). We'll see what next week brings, but odds favor a pullback in the near future. Bonds have been holding up in spite of the stock rally. Gold continued to recover, in spite of a continued rally in the US Dollar.

The short-term trend is still 'up', so no reason to really be bearish until we see a change in this short-term trend.  Next week is a short trading week because of Thanksgiving.

New all time highs:   AAPL, ABBV, AMT, BRK.B, MDT, FL, FDX, LOW, ADSK, ROST, UNP, EEP, CSX, PEP, M, MMM, ESRX, STX, NKE, DG, DLTR, COV, COST, INTU, AMGN, ADM, V, and more...

All time lows:   --

Pops:     BBY, LOW, TGT, SPLS, PETM, ROST, WSM,    Drops:   GME, GMCR

Next week:  Economic reports,   

Earnings:     

This week's charts:

S&P 500 -more all time highs!
10yr Interest Rates
Labor Force Participation Rate (10 year chart)

Commodities/Futures (charts):
Crude Oil was up, closing at $76.51 -now heading back up?

Natural Gas was up, closing at 4.26
Gold was up, closing at 1198 -still under $1200!

The 30 year Bond was up  a bit, closing at 142

The US Dollar was up, closing at 88.40

Everything was up!

NEWS:

Stocks close up for the fifth week; Dow, S&P at records
Is a market top setting up?
5 Must-See Charts - views
Best Buy profit beats, sending shares higher
Ross Stores tops Street 3Q forecasts
Earnings Up 10.5% Last Quarter

Apple-backed Rockstar ends patent war on Android, deal suggests
Firefox dumps Google for Yahoo as default search engine
5 Best Android Phones to Buy This Holiday Season for Anyone

Stock Market Blog -Nov 16th

The market was pretty much flat all week, though AAPL and AMZN rallied. Gold also rallied, while Oil dropped. The equity market may be getting tired here after this monster rally for the past month. We get earnings from a couple of retailers this week.

Implied Volatility in BABA is still high, so selling Credit Spread options might make sense here, in anticipation of a drop in IV.

And our National Debt is quickly approaching the $18 trillion mark -thats $18,000,000,000,000!
(see clock on the left)

New all time highs:   AAPL, ADSK, BRK.B, COST, CVS, GMCR, JWN, MAR, RHI, RCL, SYF, UAL, WMT

All time lows:   ANGI

Pops:        Drops:    , 

Next week:  Economic reports,   Fed minutes...

Earnings:     HD, TGT, BBY

This week's charts:

S&P 500 -hanging near all time highs!
10yr Interest Rates
Labor Force Participation Rate (10 year chart)

Commodities/Futures (charts):
Crude Oil was down again, closing at $75.48 -heading under $70?

Natural Gas was down, closing at 4.15
Gold was up, closing at 1185 -still under $1200!

The 30 year Bond was up, closing at 142.19

The US Dollar was down slightly, closing at 87.40

NEWS:

The surge is over, but this is what's up next for stocks
Oil prices collapse as OPEC stands back, while US booms

China’s stock market cracks open

Japan's economy contracts in third quarter

Stock Market Blog -Nov 2nd

The market continued the huge rally this week, as the Dollar rallied and Gold plunged, thanks in part to the Bank of Japan announcing yet another stimulus program.

BABA reports earnings for the first time on Tuesday

New all time highs:   AAPL, AMGN, BIDU, CELG, CSX. DIS, GILD, HD, MA, MMM, MDT, LOW, NKE, TSO, UAL, UPS, V, and more!

All time lows:   AU, PWE

Pops:    GPRO, LNKD, MA, V    Drops:    FB,  TWTR, 

Next week:  Economic reports,   elections on Tuesday, ...monthly Jobs report on Friday!

Earnings:     

Mon -

Tue -BABA, CVS, KORS, PCLN

Wed -

Thu -DIS

Fri -

This week's charts:

S&P 500 -ALMOST A NEW ALL TIME HIGH!
10yr Interest Rates
Labor Force Participation Rate (10 year chart)

Commodities/Futures (charts):
Crude Oil was down again, closing at $80.33 -heading under $80!

Natural Gas rallied, closing at 4.04 -over $4
Gold dropped, closing at 1167 -back under $1200!

The 30 year Bond was down, closing at 141.25

The US Dollar was up again, closing at 87.30

NEWS:

Fed ends 6-year effort to stimulate economy (vid)
Alibaba stock bulls, bears load up before earnings
Google’s Expected $100 Billion Cash Pile Prompts Call for Dividend
Gold Extends Decline Toward Lowest Since 2010 as Silver Tumbles
.

Stock Market Blog -Oct 26th

We got a big bounce this week in spite of some earnings disappointments (Nasdaq was up more than 5%!). Next week we have a Fed meeting, along with more earnings reports. We've seen gas prices drop, and mortgage rates come down as well.

The market rose sharply this week, so it's reasonable to expect a pause or pullback in the next week -catalysts could be the Fed meeting, earnings, or some unexpected news event like Europe or ebola...

Earnings drops:  AAPL, AMZN, CMG, IBM, KO, MCD, P, VMW
Earnings pops: CAT, MMM

New all time highs:   AAPL, AEP, ALXN, CELG, EW, FB, GILD, PG, LOW, MCO, MMM, ORLY, PANW, TRV, UNP,  UNH, etc.

All time lows:   ANGI

Pops:   EW, HOG   Drops:    AMZN, CMG, DDD, GPRO, KO, IBM, OCN YELP 

Next week:  Economic reports,  

Earnings:     

Mon -AMGN, CLF, MRK, STX, TWTR, UNH

Tue -BP, DD, FB, PFE, GILD, 

Wed -BIDU, KRFT, PSX, V

Thu -COP, CME, LNKD, NEM, SBUX

Fri -CLX, CVX, SNE, XOM

This week's charts:

S&P 500 -still dropping!
10yr Interest Rates
Labor Force Participation Rate (10 year chart)

Commodities/Futures (charts):
Crude Oil was down again, closing at $80.94 -heading under $80!

Natural Gas was down, closing at 3.60
Gold was down, closing at 1229 

The 30 year Bond was down, closing at 141.62 

The US Dollar was up a bit, closing at 85.71

NEWS:

Scariest day for market looms, and it's not Halloween
Apple Pay Face Challenge as CVS, Rite Aid Reject System
Amazon shares drop 13 percent on missed estimates

IRS changes the 401(k) rules for 2015
Oil could slide further, but where's the bottom?
Dilma Rousseff re-elected Brazilian president

Stock Market Blog -Oct 19th

We saw a steep sell-off this week, with a small recovery toward the end of the week. The indexes have now crossed below the 200MA. The Bond market saw some volatility too as it spiked on Wednesday. Oil prices continued downward, while Gold was up a bit. Financial troubles in Europe seem to be stirring up again.

The S&P500 is obviously in a short term down-trend. We could see it bounce a little higher this week (maybe resistance around 1920), but that will probably be followed by a continuation of the down-trend. Earnings reports could be a catalyst for providing short term market direction, and this week we get lots of companies reporting -AAPL reports on Monday.

You can trade the Bond market using TLT or TBT, or OIL using USO, or Gold using GLD. For the overall market you can use SPY, QQQ, IWM, or for the down-side, SH, PSQ, or RWM.
-List of Inverse ETFs

New all time highs:     DPZ, EXR, MJN, REGN,

All time lows:   AU, MWW

Pops:    REGN     Drops:  NFLX, WMT 

Next week:  Economic reports,  

Earnings:     

Mon -AAPL, CMG, HAL, IBM, TXN, VFC

Tue -DFS, ISRG, KO, LMT, MCD, TRV, VZ, VMW, YHOO

Wed -BA, EMC, T

Thu -AMZN, CAT, CELG, GM, MMM, MSFT, UA, 

Fri -BMY, CP, F, PG, UPS

This week's charts:

S&P 500 -still dropping!
10yr Interest Rates
Labor Force Participation Rate (10 year chart)

Europe's troubles aren't over...

Commodities/Futures (charts):
Crude Oil was down again, closing at $82.75 -heading under $80!

Natural Gas was down, closing at 3.76
Gold was up, closing at 1239 

The 30 year Bond was up again, closing at 142.90 -another surprise!

The US Dollar was down a bit, closing at 85.21

NEWS:

S&P 500 posts longest weekly loss streak since 2011
Steep Sell-Off Spreads Fear to Wall Street
What could rock the markets in week ahead
How to play tech earnings next week: 'Fast' pros

Netflix: Anatomy of a disaster
It's baaack: $100 curse haunts Apple again
Fears That Pimco and Other Big Firms Could Be Unable to Unload Risky Bonds
The depressing truth behind the jobs 'recovery'

Stock Market Blog -Oct 12th

The market continued to sell off this week, with large swings in both directions. Maybe we'll see a double bottom in the S&P500, and get a bounce next week, as we approach October Options expiration on Friday, and also approach a support level from the drop we saw in August. Earnings season begins next week, so we could see some added volatility.

Options Implied Volatility is at an elevated level, which presents an opportunity to sell premium.

New all time highs:     

All time lows:   

Pops:        Drops:  TSLA, 

Next week:  Economic reports,  Fed meeting minutes, 

Earnings:     
C, JPM, WFC

This week's charts:

S&P 500 -dropping!
10yr Interest Rates
Labor Force Participation Rate (10 year chart)

Commodities/Futures (charts):
Crude Oil was down again -still under $90!

Natural Gas was down a bit
Gold was up, finally -it made it back over 1200

The 30 year Bond was up -surprise!

The US Dollar was down a bit

NEWS:

Stock Market Blog -Oct 5th

The market saw a big drop on Wednesday, then reversed on Thursday & Friday with a big rally, but ended the week lower! The unemployment rate dropped to 5.9% -not sure how meaningful that is though, because of the way it's calculated, and a lack of wage growth, and the continued weak participation rate.  Looking at the chart of the S&P500, the recent downtrend is still intact -we closed below the 50MA this week too.

The US Dollar continued to rocket higher, sending Gold lower still. Oil was down as well.

New all time highs:     AGN, COV, CCI, CP, GPN, HAIN, NKE, PANW, 

All time lows:   ANR, SDT, PWE

Pops:    EBAY     Drops:  , 

Next week:  Economic reports,  Fed meeting minutes, 

Earnings:     AA,  COST,  FDO, MON, PEP, YUM

This week's charts:

S&P 500 -dropping?
10yr Interest Rates
Labor Force Participation Rate (10 year chart)

Commodities/Futures (charts):
Crude Oil was down, closing at $89.74 -now under $90!

Natural Gas was unchanged, closing at 4.04
Gold was down, closing at $1192 -it made it under 1200!

The 30 year Bond was up, closing near 139.22

The US Dollar was up again, closing near 86.82 -strong rally!

NEWS:

EBay spinning off PayPal as separate company (vid)
Facebook Is Emerging As A Huge Engine For Driving E-Commerce Traffic...
HP to split into two companies, report says
Apple planning Oct. 16 iPad event - report
JPMorgan hack affected 76 million households, 7 million SMBs
Millions of Devices are Vulnerable to the Shellshock Bug
UPSET: Pro-Business Candidate Aecio Neves Makes Runoff In Brazilian Election

Stock Market Blog -Sep 28th

We saw some rocky action this week with a big drop on Thursday, and some recovery on Friday. Looks like we're maybe setting up for a pullback. Next week marks the end of the 3rd quarter, and the following month marks the beginning of earnings season again. Get ready for some volatility.

Commodities continue to get hammered, as the US Dollar keeps rising. We could see Gold under $1200 next week, and Oil under $90. An oversupply of Grains is sending prices lower too (charts below).

New all time highs:     CF, LMT, NKE, VRTX

All time lows:   KING

Pops:    JNS     Drops:  AZO, 

Next week:  Economic reports,  

Earnings:     

This week's charts:

S&P 500 -Topping?
10yr Interest Rates
Labor Force Participation Rate (10 year chart)

One time high-fliers

Commodities/Futures (charts):
Crude Oil was up, closing at $93.54 -holding under $100!

Natural Gas was up, closing at 4.03
Gold was flat, closing at $1215 -still heading for 1200!

The 30 year Bond was up, closing near 137.62

The US Dollar was up again, closing near 85.76

Relentless selling in Grains as the US Dollar rallies (below), and supplies pile up...

US Dollar continues to rally

NEWS:

Gross to Join Janus After Record Redemptions at Pimco Flagship Fund

Stock Market Blog -Sep 21st

The market roller coaster continues, with an 'up' leg this week. No real effects from the Fed, the Scotland vote, or triple witch Options expiration. We are approaching the end of the quarter and I expect the rally will hold up through that time.

Gold and Oil continue to drop, along with other commodities (Grains especially!).

FDX popped on earnings
BABA, the biggest IPO ever, popped after opening.
TLT popped on Friday

New all time highs:      AMGN, ABT, AVGO, BIDU, DFS, GMCR, GLNG, INTU, JNJ, JPM, HD, ITMN, LMT, LUV, LOW, MAR, MMM, PEP, VRTX, WFC, etc.

All time lows:   ANGI,  ANR, ARCO, WLT,

Pops:     DD, X    Drops:  PIR

Next week:  Economic reports,  

Earnings:     AZO, BBBY, MU, NKE

This week's charts:

S&P 500 -Topping?
10yr Interest Rates
Labor Force Participation Rate (10 year chart)

Commodities/Futures (charts):
Crude Oil was down again, closing just over $92 -holding under $100!

Natural Gas was mostly unchanged, closing near 3.84
Gold was down again, closing at $1215 -still heading for 1200!

The 30 year Bond was up, closing near 136-25

The US Dollar was up, closing near 84.90

NEWS:

What will make stocks go even higher?
Jim Cramer's 'Mad Money' Recap: My Game Plan for Next Week