Stock Market Blog -Jan 26th

The market dropped late in the week, as traders scurried for the exits on news of a China slowdown, international currency issues, and just plain old profit taking from this extended market rally! Next week will be a big one for earnings, to include some of the big tech names like AAPL, AMZN, and GOOG (list below). On the international front, currency issues seem to be bubbling up -Argentina, Brazil, Turkey, Indonesia... More layoffs were also announced this week.

New all time highs:    COV, MCK, SYNA -short list!
All time lows:   --BSBR, ARCO, ABEV

Pops:   NFLX, JNPR       Drops:   CSX, CLF, HLF, KSU, NOK, WYNN

Next week:  Economic reports,  -Fed meeting, GDP report, 

Earnings: 

Mon -AAPL, CAT, STX, X

Tue - AMGN, DD, DDD, F, T, PFE, YHOO

Wed - BA, BIIB, FB, LVS, QCOM

Thu - CELG, MMM, MO, UPS, V, XOM, AMZN, CMG, GOOG

Fri - MA

Market Commentary

Next week we get a barrage of earnings reports . The VIX finally spiked off the bottom, possibly indicating more downside action to come. I've said before that this market rally is long in the tooth, and continue to think that we will see a correction in coming weeks. The S&P500 also dropped below the 50MA on Friday. Selling rallies might be an appropriate trading strategy here.

This week's charts:

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

Commodities/Futures (charts):
Crude Oil was up, closing at $96.82 -under $100
Natural Gas was up, closing  at $5.09
Gold was up a bit, closing at $1264
The 30 year Bond was up, closing at 132.8
The US Dollar was down, closing at 80.55

What happened here?

NEWS:

Week Ahead: Fed Tapering Decision and Earnings
Traders watching for signs to see if this selloff is the big one (vid)
 Daily State Of The Markets: Is It Time To Worry Again?
Apple preview: What investors and traders expect on Monday
Facebook to lose 80% of its users by 2017, according to a new study (vid)

Currency Massacre In Emerging Markets
Emerging market turmoil punctuates rough start to 2014
Argentina's Currency Falls Sharply Against the Dollar, Stirring Inflation Fears
 Puerto Rico On The Brink Of Default

Stock Market Blog -Jan 19th

The market was pretty much flat this week as the big banks reported earnings, and as we closed another cycle for monthly Options and 'leaps'. Bonds inched up in price, as did Gold.  With the jobs situation not really improving much, and with more layoff announcements, I don't expect much growth in the economy in the near term, and would expect the market to reflect that in some kind of pullback from this monster rally (we are near all time highs).

New all time highs:    ABT, ACN, AXP, CRM, GILD, GOOG, ILMN, INTU, V, SCTY, STX, WYNN...
All time lows:   --

Pops:    BEAM, TSLA      Drops:   BBY, COF, GME, HLF, LULU, NUS, SODA

Next week:  Economic reports, 

Best Buy shares tanked this week. So did LULU (look for more in the coming weeks maybe):

Earnings: 

Mon -

Tue - IBM, JNJ, TRV, VZ

Wed - NFLX, UTX

Thu - CELG, MCD, MSFT, SBUX

Fri - PG

Market Commentary

Next week we get another round of earnings reports (the market is closed on Monday, so it's a short week). The chart of the S&P500 could be forming a top at these lofty levels -watch for earnings to be the next catalyst for market direction. Also the VIX is near an all time low, another possible signal for a market reversal.

S&P500 vs. Gold for 2013

This week's charts:

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

Commodities/Futures (charts):
Crude Oil dropped, closing at $94.37 -under $100
Natural Gas was up, closing  at $4.32
Gold was up a bit, closing at $1251
The 30 year Bond was up, closing at 131.31
The US Dollar was up, closing at 81.36

NEWS:

Week Ahead: Tech Earnings and Housing Data
Intel to reduce global workforce by five percent in 2014
Here's what tends to happen after a strong year
This bull market is not over, says Jeremy Siegel (vid)
What to expect from Apple, Microsoft and Facebook this year
Is Google more innovative than Apple (vid)?

Chinese Economic Growth Slows To Lowest Level Since 1999
Gold to tank in 2014: Goldman Sachs (vid)
Gold manages modest weekly gain; Ends near $1,252
Gold contrarians say it’s time to start buying

Stock Market Blog -Jan 12th

This week the market rebounded a bit, in spite of bad news from the monthly Jobs report (only 74,000 jobs added -vs. approximately 200,000  expected. Also, the unemployment rate dropped to a surprise 6.7%, mainly because of people dropping out from those being counted, and not because they are getting jobs! Retail sales over the holidays was weak too. Bonds and Gold rallied.

New all time highs:    AET, BA, BIIB, CMCSA, DG, DTV, ESRX, CSX, MYL, STZ, PSX, UTX
All time lows:   

Pops:  ANF, FRX, ICPT, ISRG, MU, STZ,        Drops:   BBBY, SHLD

Next week:  Economic reports, 

Earnings: 

Mon -

Tue - JPM, WFC

Wed - BAC, CSX

Thu - AXP, C, GS, INTC, PNC, UNH

Fri - GE, MS, BK

Market Commentary

Next week kicks off earnings season for 2014. The year started off on a negative tone, so we'll see how the market reacts to company earnings in the next few weeks. We get earnings from all the big banks next week. The DOW appears to be a little weak.

This week's charts:

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

Commodities/Futures (charts):
Crude Oil dropped, closing at $92.74 -under $100
Natural Gas dropped, closing  at $4.13
Gold was up, closing at $1251
The 30 year Bond was up, closing at 130.84
The US Dollar was mostly flat, closing at 80.66

NEWS:

Disappointing jobs report (vid)
Big miss: December job gains just 74,000
2013 ends with weakest job growth in years
Earnings pose the next hurdle for stocks
5 market worries keeping Cramer up at night
Volatility could come back big-time—here's why

Chart of the Day: The real unemployment rate?
Consumer Stocks Hit Record Highs
PC Shipments Mark Steepest Decline With 10 Percent Drop
Apple reports record-smashing $10 billion in 2013 App Store sales
What a coffee bull market means for your latte
China first to consume 20 million vehicles a year, annual sales rise by 14%

Stock Market Blog -Jan 5th

The year started off with a drop in the stock indices. Lets see what the next few weeks will bring, keeping in mind that starting next week, companies will begin to report earnings. After the big rally that we had in 2013, most traders expect some kind of pullback, and a much smaller gain for 2014 -we'll see. Lets also keep an eye on Bonds and Gold to see if the sell-off continues.

Biggest winner in the S&P500 for 2013: NFLX
AAPL dropped this week.

New all time highs:    AAP, ALXN, BBBY, DDD, DIS, HTZ, STX, SAVE...
All time lows:   

Pops:  , Drops:   

Next week:  Economic reports, Monthy Jobs report

Earnings:  AA, MU, MON

Market Commentary

We may be seeing the start of a pullback for the new year. Upcoming catalysts include the Jobs report on Friday, and another set of quarterly reports over the coming weeks. Until the up-trend is broken though, it makes sense to continue to be long. How can you tell when it's broken? Use a Moving Average, with a time frame that matches your time frame (e.g. 20MA, 50MA, etc).

This week's charts:

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

Commodities/Futures (charts):
Crude Oil dropped, closing at $95.44 -back under $100!
Natural Gas was up, closing  at $4.30
Gold was up, closing at $1225
The 30 year Bond was mostly flat, closing at 128.53
The US Dollar rallied to close at 80.95

NEWS:

Stocks: 2013 is one for the record books
Stocks close mixed; Bernanke says economy should continue to improve
Big week for Fed, as traders await jobs report
11 companies that won in 2013
Gold Goes Out With A Drubbing

Can The Economic Recovery Last in 2014?

10 Most Shorted Stocks in the S&P 500
Runaway blue chip bull? Cramer’s Dow predictions (DOW stocks)
The case for ditching stocks and buying gold in 2014
1930s-style debt defaults likely, says IMF research
World markets: What's hot in 2014