Stock Market update -Oct 25th

The market rallied again this week, boosted by ECB comments about continued monetary easing, another boost from China (lowering interest rates), and huge rallies in big-cap tech stocks after reporting earnings (AMZN, GOOGL, MSFT). Last week I said we could see a rally back to the highs from earlier this the year -well we got it! (except for the small-caps which are lagging quite a bit -IWM). Next week we'll get AAPL earnings -could be a spoiler, or it could add fuel to this rally. Of course no one knows till after it happens!

FB crossed the $100 level for the first time. WTW shares more than doubled! Thanks Oprah.
Big earnings pops this week from AMZN, GOOGL, MSFT, MCD. Meanwhile CMG, IBM, and VMW dropped.

After 15 years, MSFT finally made it back to its 2000 high!

GOOGL:  "Products like Search, Android, Maps, Chrome and YouTube each have over a billion users already, and Google Play crossed that milestone this quarter as well," CEO Sundar Pichai stated.

New all time highs:    
ADBE, AMZN, CRM, DAL, FB, GOOGL, HD, MA, MCD, PEP, RCL, RAI, SBUX, TRV, V, lots!!
All time lows:     
Pops:  AMZN, MSFT, MCD        Drops:     CMG, SKX, SRCL, P, VMW, VRX 
Mergers/Deals:  WD to buy SNDK

Next week:  Economic reports,  Fed meeting,  GDP report

This week's charts:

VRX: former hi-flier

'Tech' leaders...

Earnings:      

Mon
Tue	AAPL, F, PFE, UPS,
Wed	AMGN
Thu	BIDU, COP, MA, SBUX
Fri	CVX, XOM

S&P 500 -still moving back up

CBOE VIX -continues to drop
10yr Interest Rates -dropping
Labor Force Participation Rate (10 year chart)

Commodities/Futures (charts):

Natural Gas dropped a bit, closing near 2.28

Crude Oil was down, closing near 44.73

Gold was down, closing near 1164 -approaching 1200?

The 30 year Bond was down a bit, closing near 157.03  -could be going to 160

The US Dollar was up,  closing near 97.18

NEWS:

Nasdaq closes at two-month high on tech surge
Week Ahead: FOMC Meeting, Apple Earnings and GDP
Alphabet (GOOGL) Stock Surges After Earnings, Stock Buyback
Apple to Report Q4 Earnings: Will It Beat Estimates Again?
Oprah Winfrey Makes $70 Million in One Day From Investing in Weight Watchers

Stock Market update -Oct 18th

The market continued to rally this week, taking out the prior rally high from mid September. We could very well see a rally all the way back to the highs of earlier this year, though 'earnings' will probably be the determining factor -it could go either way. Next week will be a very busy earnings week (see company list below).

The Dollar dropped, so Gold rallied, as did commodities. Bonds also rallied!
WMT saw a huge drop after warning on earnings. NFLX dropped after earnings.

New all time highs:    ATVI, ADBE, NKE, CRM, LGF, RAI
All time lows:     
Pops    TRIP, YOKU      Drops:      NFLX, WMT  
Mergers/Deals:  Dell to buy EMC...

Next week:  Economic reports,

This week's charts:

WMT: 4 years of gains disappear in 1 year!

Other DOW stocks...

Earnings:      

Mon	HAL, IBM, MS, VRX
Tue	CMG, JPM, VZ, UTX, VMW, YHOO
Wed	AXP, BA, EBAY, GM KMI, KO,
Thu	AMZN, CAT, GOOGL, MSFT, MCD, MMM
Fri	PG

S&P 500 -still moving back up

CBOE VIX -continues to drop
10yr Interest Rates -dropping
Labor Force Participation Rate (10 year chart)

Commodities/Futures (charts):

Natural Gas dropped a bit, closing near 2.42

Crude Oil was mostly unchanged, closing near 47.26

Gold was up again, closing near 1177 -approaching 1200

The 30 year Bond was up a bit, closing near 158.53  -could be going to 160

The US Dollar was down a bit,  closing near 94.77

NEWS:

Stocks close higher for third week as market expects easy Fed policy
Black swan risk rises to highest level ever
ETFs are getting ready to take over the world
Why There's No Better Time to Buy Commodities

Wal-Mart may need a decade to get its ‘mojo’ back
Alibaba makes $3.6 billion offer for 'China's YouTube'
China could be what determines whether the bottom is in for commodities

Stock Market update -Oct 4th

We closed out this quarter on a very negative note, with the stock indexes now down for the year, and maybe headed lower. After the bad Jobs report on Friday, Bonds, and Stocks, and Gold rallied. Hmmm... wonder which one is wrong!

Only 142,000 jobs were added in September, far below expectations, but the market rallied anyway!
Walmart announced layoffs, So have CAT, CAG, CHK, HPQ, KHC, HAL, WFM...

New all time highs:    HRB
All time lows:      
Pops          Drops:        
Mergers/Deals:  

Next week:  Economic reports,   Fed minutes...

Earnings:      AA, MON, PEP, YUM

This week's charts:

S&P 500 -topped! 

CBOE VIX -still elevated
10yr Interest Rates -dropping?
Labor Force Participation Rate (10 year chart)

Commodities/Futures (charts):

Natural Gas was mostly unchanged, closing near 2.47

Crude Oil was mostly unchanged, closing near 45.66

Gold was down, closing near 1137 -still holding above $1100

The 30 year Bond was up, closing near 158.75  -could be going to 160?

The US Dollar was down a bit,  closing near 96.04

NEWS:

Dow, S&P close up more than 1%, post biggest reversal in 4 years
Ugly jobs report casts doubt over 2015 Fed rate hike
Are you ready for the next bear market?
Brace for worst year on Wall Street since 2008

Google will become Alphabet
Does the market have a big Apple problem?
Thanks to Apple, US will buy Chinese phones: ZTE
Walmart to lay off 450 employees at headquarters