Stock Market Blog -Aug 10th

The market was struggling to catch a bounce last week. Maybe this week will be better. Bonds and Gold rallied. Earnings season is winding down, with some of the Retailers reporting this week.

New all time highs:    AMT, 
All time lows:   -ARCO

Pops:      Drops:  GRPN, S, TWX, WAG

Next week:  Economic reports,  

Earnings:     AAP, CSCO, DE, JCP, PCLN, CREE, WMT

Market Commentary

The Small-cap Russell 2000 (IWM) has been trading below the 200MA -not a good sign for the bulls. The Friday rally may have further to go, but it will probably be an opportunity to establish a short position. The DOW seems to be broken as well.

Implied Volatility in the Options market is trending higher. If you are an Options trader, Credit Spreads continue to be attractive here.

This week's charts:

S&P 500 -holding under the 50MA
10yr Interest Rates
Labor Force Participation Rate (10 year chart)

Commodities/Futures (charts):
Crude Oil was mostly unchanged, closing around $97.65 -holding under $100!

Natural Gas was up a bit, closing near 3.99
Gold rallied, closing at $1310 -back over $1300

The 30 year Bond rallied, closing near 139.22

The US Dollar was up a bit, closing near 81.50

NEWS:

Here's what could rock stocks in the week ahead
Charting the S&P 500’s bearish technical turn
This market expert sees big upside for stocks
McDonald’s sales, stock suffer worst slump in a decade
China halts government Apple purchases
Portugal's Espirito Santo Banking Dynasty Collapses