Stock Market Blog -Mar 27th

The market recovered nicely this week, taking us back over the 1300 level on the S&P 500. Japan's woes continue, the bombing continues in Libya, and the market continues to go up!
Gold continues to climb too, hitting another record high this week.

Citi's stock can't seem to move up past $5, so they are doing a 10 for 1 reverse stock split to get the price up close to $50! You can fool some of the people some of the time...

RIMM dropped on earnings, while ORCL was up after reporting their earnings.

New all time highs: ABC, BIDU, CAT, CSX, CVX, CTSH, DTV, SINA


New unemployment claims dropped to 382,000 (chart).
This week, one more bank was shut down by the FDIC! (list).

Next week: (Economic reports link). The big news next week will be the monthly Jobs report on Friday. We also continue to watch events in Japan, Libya, and Europe -and now Syria and Israel too.

Market commentary: The market has rallied back from the dip we saw in the first half of this month. Being the end of the quarter this week, I expect we will see some more positive movement for now. Oil might be doing a 'double top' for now.

Commodities (charts):
Oil prices rallied, closing just above $105 per barrel.
Natural Gas rallied (finally!), closing near $4.40
Gold rallied, closing near $1426
The 30 year Bond dropped, closing near $120.
The US Dollar was up a bit, closing just over 76.

News:
U.S. stocks notch weekly gains
Citigroup Announces 1-for-10 Reverse Split
Sales of new U.S. homes tumble 16.9% to record low
Consumer sentiment falls sharply in March
iPad 2: Out of stock by Saturday
Michael Dell’s Very Big Stock Purchase
Gold futures notch record high

Another eurozone crisis is coming – this time it's Portugal
Japan reports rise in radioactive seawater

Stock Market Blog -Mar 20th

The market dropped early in the week, then recovered somewhat by Friday. Banks rallied on Fed news about being able to pay dividends again. The nuclear reactor situation in Japan worsened, while earthquake and tsunami victims are scrambling for help (seems like the news forgot about them). The US Dollar continued to drop, and Oil is back over $100 again.

New all time highs: BSFT, CSX


New unemployment claims dropped to 385,000 (chart).
This week, no banks were shut down by the FDIC! (list).

Next week: (Economic reports link). We continue to monitor the news out of Japan and the Middle East. GDP report on Friday too.

RIMM and ORCL report earnings on Thursday.

Market commentary: The market stumbled again this week, though it recovered a bit on Thursday and Friday. With all the bad news out there, I don't see much to hold the market up. We may be setting up for a larger correction in this two year rally. Keep your eye on the US Dollar too -if it starts to rally, it could hurt the market.

Now that we've started bombing Libya, next week could be an interesting one in the markets.

Commodities (charts):
Oil prices dropped, then recovered, closing near $101 per barrel.
Natural Gas rallied, closing near $4.17
Gold dropped, then recovered, closing near $1416
The 30 year Bond was up, closing near $123'11.
The US Dollar was down, closing just under 76. All major currencies rallied on Friday, except the US Dollar!

News:

Inflation pressure bubbles, home building dives
What the End of QE2 Means for the Market
The bull market is over – we're in a bear market now
What’s next for commodities with Japan in crisis
AT&T to buy T-Mobile USA for $39 billion
Florida: 18 Percent of Homes are Vacant

U.S. Missiles Strike Libyan Air-Defense Targets
West Plans More Strikes on Libya Despite Arab Criticism
BoJ Injects Another 5 Trillion Yen to Calm Market
Central Banks Set to Tighten Despite Japan Crisis

Stock Market Blog -Mar 13th

The big news this week was the huge earthquake and tsunami in Japan. The market however reacted to the up-side on Friday. The up-trend seems to be breaking down here, so I would use any rally to take profits.

New unemployment claims were back up again, this time to 397,000 (chart).
This week, two banks were shut down by the FDIC! (list).

Next week: (Economic reports link). Triple witching -expiration for Options, Futures...

Market commentary: The market faltered some more this week, so be careful. Being options expiration week for the 1st quarter, I expect we'll see a bounce next week (to take out all the shorts?).

Commodities (charts):
Oil prices dropped, closing near $100 per barrel.
Natural Gas was mostly unchanged, closing near $3.90
Gold dropped, closing near $1421 (quadruple top??)
The 30 year Bond was down, closing near $122.
The US Dollar was up, closing just under 77.

News:
Stocks plunge on economic news, oil price swings
The Dow's Plunge: Should You Be Worried?
Pimco Move Could Send More Investors Out of Treasurys

Japan central bank injects $184B as stocks plunge
Second explosion at stricken Japan nuke plant

Stock Market Blog -Mar 6th

This was a rocky week, with big moves up, and big moves down. The monthly jobs report on Friday showed a drop in the unemployment rate to 8.9%, but the market sold off anyway.

Gold, Silver, and Oil hit new highs, as the US Dollar continued to drop.

New all time highs: APKT, CVX, DTV, NTES, PAY, PHK, PNRA, PRGO, SLV, SLW, TJX

New unemployment claims were down to 368,000, a 3 year low! (chart).
This week, no banks were shut down by the FDIC! (list).

Next week: (Economic reports link). The Treasury auctions $66 billion in notes and bonds.

Market commentary: The up-trend is still intact, and I expect we will see the market continue higher in coming weeks -too many bearish traders expecting it to go down! The weak US Dollar helps to push it up too.

This month marks the 2 year anniversary of this huge bull run, with some indexes now up over 100%.

Commodities (charts):
Oil prices shot up again, closing near $104.4 per barrel.
Natural Gas was down, closing near $3.8
Gold was up, closing near $1428.
The 30 year Bond was down, closing near $120'26.
The US Dollar was down again, closing near 76.4 -approaching a double bottom??

News:
Stocks: Dow tumbles on oil fears
Week Ahead: Oil Pressure to Remain on Stocks
Oil Ends Above $104 in Highest Close Since September '08
Jobless claims fall to nearly 3-year low
U.S. adds 192,000 jobs; jobless rate dips to 8.9%
Charting unemployment – good news & bad news
Home prices: The double-dip is near

Stock Market Blog -Feb 28th

After options expiration on the previous Friday, the market pulled back this week, then rallied back a bit on Friday. Bonds rallied too, along with Crude oil and Gold.

All time highs: APKT, CVX, DTV,
OVTI popped on earnings.
HPQ and WMT dropped on earnings.

New unemployment claims were back down to 391,000! (chart).
This week, another bank was shut down by the FDIC! (list).

Next week: (Economic reports link). Monthly jobs report on Friday -a potential market mover.

Market commentary: Well we did get the pullback I mentioned last week. Now that the 'bears' are all loading up, I expect they will be crushed once again as the market reloads in the coming weeks.

Commodities (charts):
Oil prices shot up, closing near $99 per barrel.
Natural Gas rallied on Friday, closing near $4.00
-yes it was a buying opportunity (posted last week)
Gold was up, closing near $1409.
The 30 year Bond was up, closing near $121'23.
The US Dollar was down again, closing near 77.25 -approaching a double bottom??

News:
Stocks: Jobs take center stage
Problem bank ratio at 23-year high
Fourth-Quarter GDP Revised Down to 2.8%
Sales of new homes fall a shocking 11.2%
Foreclosures make up 26% of home sales
Libyan chaos stirs global panic over oil supplies

Stock Market Blog -Feb 20th

The market rally continues. 'The trend is your friend' -so let's see if it continues. A pullback is way overdue in this market, so I'd be careful. The MDY continues to hit all time highs (Mid-caps), easily outperforming the Large-caps.

ARUN and DELL popped this week! Solar stocks popped too.
This was a strong week for the DOW stocks as well.

All time highs:

New unemployment claims were back up to 410,000! (chart).
This week, four more banks were shut down by the FDIC! (list).

Next week: (Economic reports link). Markets are CLOSED on Monday.
Companies reporting earnings include: HD, HPQ, LOW, TGT, WMT,

Market commentary: The rally continued this week, right into options expiration Friday. Next week we could see a pullback.

AAPL sold off on Thursday and Friday -keep your eye on this one. PCLN and NFLX sold off too, as did the auto parts companies (AAP, AZO, ORLY...).

Commodities (charts):
Oil prices dipped, then recovered, closing near $86.20 per barrel.
Natural Gas dropped again, closing near $3.85 -buying opportunity??
Gold was up, closing around $1388.
The 30 year Bond was up, closing near $119'07.
The US Dollar was down, closing near 77.66.
Hyper-caffeinated coffee prices hit 14-year high

Silver rocketed higher this week.

News:
U.S. Stocks Gain a Third Week as S&P 500 Rises to 32-Month High
Bulls on parade. Is rally getting ridiculous?
Wall Street looking to Wal-Mart
Sector Snap: retailers to post earnings next week
Junk bonds: Still a good bet

Green Mountain Commands Most Expensive U.S. Valuation: Real M&A
Intel to Build $5 Billion Arizona Chip Plant, Hire 4,000 in U.S. This Year
Borders files Chapter 11, to close 200 stores

Stock Market Blog -Feb 13th

Another week, another rally. This market has been in rally mode since last September, with only a small blip down in November (chart below). The mid-cap index continues to hit all time highs (MDY)! Also, lots of stocks hitting all time highs this week...

Earnings pops: DIS, JDSU, CMG, PNRA, TM, TTM

CSCO dropped after reporting earnings -also EXPE.

New all time highs: AAPL, BIDU, CAT, CMG, CLX, COST, DIS, EL, EMR, GMCR, ILMN, INTU, IWO, LULU, NFLX, OXY, RAX, ROST, TJX, UTX, XRT (retailers!)

New all time lows: QID, SDS, BGZ, TZA, etc -all the inverse index ETFs!

New unemployment claims dropped under the 400k level to 383,000! (chart).
This week, four more banks were shut down by the FDIC! (list).

Next week: (Economic reports link). Options expiration on Friday!
Also, earnings reports are starting to wind down. Companies reporting include:

Mon:
Tue: DELL
Wed: DE, NTAP, NVDA
Thu: ABX
Fri: CHK
Market commentary: The rally continues, with lots of options traders 'short' the market going in to expiration week. We could see more short covering again, driving the market even higher!

Could this be keeping the SPY up??

IWM is approaching the pre-crash high of 2007! QQQQ took out that high at the beginning of the year; likewise for the MDY, which continues to hit all time highs.

Commodities (charts):
Oil prices dropped, closing just under $87.60 per barrel.
Natural Gas dropped again, closing just under $4.00.
Gold was up, closing around $1363.
The 30 year Bond stabilized, closing near $118'13.
The US Dollar was up, closing near 78.5.

Copper, Cotton, and Sugar prices continue to escalate!

News:
A new high for the stock market?
How High (or Low) Could the Stock Market Go?
Apple's Mini 'Flash Crash' Today
Cramer: 20 Must-Watch Earnings Next Week
IMF calls for dollar alternative
Our dollar, China's $2 trillion problem
Good news. Yield ahead!
5 Ominous Signs the Bond Bubble Is Breaking

JDS-Who? The return of hot tech stocks
Amazon and EMC have their heads in the clouds
Nokia unveils Microsoft partnership
Corn’s rally feeds a ‘global food fight’
Indian stocks may see some relief
China raises rates to battle stubbornly high inflation

Stock Market Blog -Feb 6th

The market recovered from the previous week's drop, with the DOW closing above 12,000 and the S&P500 over 1300. The QQQQ and IWM seem to have hit a ceiling, maybe.

The monthly jobs report showed a miniscule increase in jobs, and the unemployment rate dropped to 9%. Market reaction was muted.

New all time highs:
IBM, CAT, UTX (DOW stocks), MDY (mid-caps)
CY, DLM, GMCR, LULU, NFLX, PETM, RAX, ROST, TJX, SINA,

New unemployment claims dropped to 415,000! (chart).
This week, three more banks were shut down by the FDIC! (list).

Next week: (Economic reports link). Next week we get more earnings reports, to include:

Mon:
Tue: TM, DIS
Wed: KO, CSCO
Thu:
Fri:

Market commentary: We saw a nice rally this week as earnings continue to come in. It's anyone's guess as to when this market might slow down! Bonds took a tumble this week. We continue to be very overbought, with divergence seen in both the Nasdaq 100 and the Russell Small-caps (RSI indicator).

Commodities (charts):
Oil prices dropped, closing near $89 per barrel.
Natural Gas was unchanged, closing near $4.30.
Gold was up, closing around $1348.
The 30 year Bond saw a huge drop! ...closing near $117'28.
The US Dollar was up, closing just over 78.

Soybeans, Corn, Wheat, Cotton were all up as well!
Surging prices lift cotton-futures ETN

News:
Stocks Turn Higher As Leaders Perk Up
What’s after Dow 12,000 and S&P 1,300?
Unemployment rate plunges, while job growth is weak. Huh?
Dollar rallies after ECB’s Trichet speaks
Louis Navellier's Market-Beating Stock Picks

Fed Holdings of U.S. Treasuries Surpass China's
CBO: U.S. budget deficit to hit $1.5 trillion
5 ETFs To Watch As China Grows
China's love affair with Apple