Stock Market Blog -Apr 13th

The market continued to drop this week for no apparent reason -maybe profit taking? The indexes are now in a losing position for the year. I mentioned last week that the DOW appeared to have made a double top. Bonds, Gold, and Oil were up for the week. The US Dollar dropped.

New all time highs:   UL, GPOR, 
All time lows:   -KING

Pops:   QCOR      Drops:   BBBY, HLF, JPM, GPS

Next week:  Economic reports,  MARKET IS CLOSED ON GOOD FRIDAY!

Earnings:     

Mon -C, 

Tue -INTC, JNJ, KO, YHOO

Wed -GOOG, IBM, AXP, BAC, COF, PNC, SNDK

Thu - MS, GS, GE, PEP, UNH

Fri -closed

Market Commentary

Could be an interesting week with lots of  companies reporting earnings, April Options expiration, and the markets closed on Friday. We could see a bounce from this extended sell-off  if volatility shrinks with Options expiration. Even if we do get a bounce for the week though, the markets seem to be in a bigger down trend.

Implied Volatility on individual stocks tend to rise ahead of earnings, then drop sharply once the earnings are out. Options strategies can be used to take advantage of these predictable moves (e.g. selling Credit spreads).

This week's charts:

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

Commodities/Futures (charts):
Crude Oil was up, closing around $103.74  -still above $100!
Natural Gas was up, closing  at $4.62
Gold was up, closing at $1319
The 30 year Bond was up, closing at 134.78
The US Dollar dropped, closing at 79.52

NEWS:
Stocks: Lousy end to a bad week
Good earnings could turn around markets
Apple vs Samsung: Why this trial will be harder for Apple
Herbalife shares plunge on report of FBI probe
8 pricey stocks haunting the Nasdaq

High fees eroding many retirement accounts
Roiled Markets In China Spell Trouble For Economy
Europe Folds As Putin Tells It To Pay Ukraine's Gazprom Bill, Or Else
Greece Dives Back Into the Bond Market