Stock Market Blog -Dec 28th

This was another good week for the markets. The Russell 2000 (small-caps) closed at an all time high, and looks poised to move even higher! The S&P500 and the DOW also closed at an all time high. The NASDAQ needs to catch up and probably will. Also the S&P500 will probably take out the 2100 level, since its so close -all short term bullish signs.  We also got a great GDP report revision (5%).

New all time highs:   AEP, CVS, CMCSA, DIS, D, ED, ESRX, FTNT, KMI, SO, TGT, V, VA, 
All time lows:   

Pops:        Drops:   

Next week:  Economic reports,   

Earnings:     

This week's charts:

S&P 500 -new all time high again!
10yr Interest Rates
Labor Force Participation Rate (10 year chart)

Commodities/Futures (charts):
Crude Oil was down, closing near $54.73  

Natural Gas dropped, closing at $3.00
Gold was down a bit, closing near 1195 

The 30 year Bond dropped a bit, closing near 143.38

The US Dollar was up, closing at 90.31 -now over 90, and the 2010 high

NEWS:

Forget Dow 18,000. It’s small caps' turn now
Record $36.5 billion flows into US-based funds in week: Lipper
US consumer spending rises solidly
Natgas prices briefly break below $3; down 30% in a month
Cramer clarifies the 401(k), IRA, Roth mystery

Stock Market Blog -Dec 21st

The market rallied strong after the Fed meeting on Wednesday, catching most people by surprise. We could see this rally continue to finish off the year, and as 'short' positions are covered. Next week could be a light trading week because of the Christmas holiday.

There are still good trading opportunities using Options, because Implied Volatility is still somewhat elevated. Credit Spreads and Iron Condors would be appropriate trades.

New all time highs:   ABT, ACN, ALL, AET, BIIB, CL, CVS, DG, HD, HON, ISIS, MMM, PG, PNC, TJX, UNH, UPS, STX, WDC, etc.
All time lows:   ARCO

Pops:     ORCL,   Drops:   

Next week:  Economic reports,   

Earnings:     WAG, 

This week's charts:

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

Commodities/Futures (charts):
Crude Oil was mostly unchanged, closing near $57.13  

Natural Gas dropped a bit, closing at $3.46
Gold was down a bit, closing near 1196 

The 30 year Bond dropped a bit, closing near 144.31

The US Dollar was up, closing at 89.84

NEWS:

Biggest weekly gain in nearly two years for S&P 500

Chart of the Day - Biotech stocks in a strong uptrend

Frothy.com: Is Part II of the Dotcom Crash Coming?
China’s stock market goes boom
The sun is setting on the emerging market miracle
For the West, Russia Has Become Too Big to Fail

Why Russia's crisis could have a ripple effect

Stock Market Blog -Dec 14th

Bad week in the markets, both for stocks and Oil.  Bonds surged, sending interest rates lower.

Outlook: The market broke for the first time since the mid-October rally. It's pretty much at a support level here so we could see a bounce next week, especially since its expiration week which tends to have a bullish bias. Using Options, opportunities might exist in selling high volatility puts or put spreads.

New all time highs:   AAP, ADBE, BKW, THI, DAL, HUM, ORLY, TJX, UAL
All time lows:   ABEV, AU, PWE

Pops:     ADBE, LULU,   Drops:   

Next week:  Economic reports,   

Earnings:     FDX, NKE, ORCL

This week's charts:

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

Commodities/Futures (charts):
Crude Oil dropped again, closing near $57.80  -looks like it's still dropping further

Natural Gas was unchanged, closing at $3.80
Gold was up, closing near 1222 -finally over $1200!

The 30 year Bond rallied, closing near 145.18

The US Dollar dropped, closing at 88.34

NEWS:

Oil hits stocks; worst week of 2014 for Dow, S&P 500 (vid)
Dow drops 300 points as US stocks plunge
Week Ahead: FOMC Minutes and Fed Speeches
Louise Yamada: Here’s how far the S&P will fall
IBD 50: Growth Stocks Fight The Fight In Weak Tape
The Biggest U.S. Tech IPO Of The Year Went Nuts Today
The silent crash in commodities—a warning sign

Stock Market Blog -Dec 7th

Another week, another new high in the markets! We also got a good Monthly Jobs report on Friday, with over 300,000 new jobs added. Cyber Monday sales were up, and Oil prices continued to drop. 

This marks 7 straight weeks of gains in the market! Is it time to take profits yet?? I think we'll see the NASDAQ return to its 2000 highs before we see a meaningful pullback . We're pretty close, 14 years later!

Newsflash! Yeaaay... we are now more than $18,000,000,000,000 in debt ($18 trillion)

New all time highs:   DIS, FOX, EXPE, DAL, UAL, HLT, AET, HUM, JPM, LOW, MA, V, MDT, RCL, SBUX, THI, WFT, and more...
All time lows:   ??

Pops:    AVGO, BIIB, CY    Drops:   ARO, BIG

Next week:  Economic reports,   

Earnings:     AZO, CIEN, COST, LULU

This week's charts:

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

Commodities/Futures (charts):
Crude Oil dropped a bit, closing near $66  -looks like it's dropping further

Natural Gas dropped, closing at $3.80
Gold was up, closing near 1190 -still under $1200!

The 30 year Bond dropped, closing near 141.50

The US Dollar was up again, closing at 89.36

NEWS:

Market Wrap: Buoyed by Jobs Report, Stocks End Week Higher
Employers Add 321,000 Jobs, Most in Nearly 3 Years
Google Has Major Headaches Going into 2015 Because of Apple, Facebook
Chromebooks now more popular than iPads in U.S. schools
Why Even Apple Is Surprised by the Enormous Demand for the iPhone 6
Why One Facebook Bull Expects the Social Network to Be Worth Nearly $300 Billion
Dear Microsoft: Why does Outlook 2013 cost $110?

Why Disney's Big This Holiday Season -- and Next Year, Too
Sears' Quarterly Loss Was Ugly -- and the Outlook Isn't Any Better
International lending to China soars in 2014: BIS

NASA's New Horizons spacecraft is awake and cruising toward Pluto

Stock Market weekend update -Nov 30th

The market continued to run up with the NASDAQ leading the way, though we saw a small drop on Friday. Lots of new all time Highs again...

Bonds have been creeping up. Oil dropped again this week.

New all time highs:   CELG, DAL, DIS, LUV, UAL, HD, K, M, MA, NKE, PEP, PG, TGT, TJX, DLTR, FDX, UPS, V, UNH, WFC, WMT, etc.
All time lows:   SD, PWE, PGH...

Pops:  WMT, retailers       Drops:   XOM, CVX, energy...

Next week:  Economic reports,   Monthly Jobs report!

Earnings:     

This week's charts:

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

Commodities/Futures (charts):
Crude Oil dropped, closing near $66  -looks like it's dropping further

Natural Gas dropped a bit, closing near $4.1
Gold dropped, closing near 1175 -still under $1200!

The 30 year Bond was up  a bit, closing near 142.50

The US Dollar unchanged, closing at 88.40

NEWS:

Black Friday turns red as sales plunge: NRF
The concerning bond trend that could rule 2015
Can oil fall all the way to $40?
Nightmare day for oil stocks (vid)
WHO: Ebola Toll Leaps Higher to Nearly 7,000 in West Africa

Stock Market Weekend Update -Nov 23rd

Another week, another record high in the markets (S&P500) -we have had a non-stop rally since mid-October! Lots of new all-time highs (below). We'll see what next week brings, but odds favor a pullback in the near future. Bonds have been holding up in spite of the stock rally. Gold continued to recover, in spite of a continued rally in the US Dollar.

The short-term trend is still 'up', so no reason to really be bearish until we see a change in this short-term trend.  Next week is a short trading week because of Thanksgiving.

New all time highs:   AAPL, ABBV, AMT, BRK.B, MDT, FL, FDX, LOW, ADSK, ROST, UNP, EEP, CSX, PEP, M, MMM, ESRX, STX, NKE, DG, DLTR, COV, COST, INTU, AMGN, ADM, V, and more...

All time lows:   --

Pops:     BBY, LOW, TGT, SPLS, PETM, ROST, WSM,    Drops:   GME, GMCR

Next week:  Economic reports,   

Earnings:     

This week's charts:

S&P 500 -more all time highs!
10yr Interest Rates
Labor Force Participation Rate (10 year chart)

Commodities/Futures (charts):
Crude Oil was up, closing at $76.51 -now heading back up?

Natural Gas was up, closing at 4.26
Gold was up, closing at 1198 -still under $1200!

The 30 year Bond was up  a bit, closing at 142

The US Dollar was up, closing at 88.40

Everything was up!

NEWS:

Stocks close up for the fifth week; Dow, S&P at records
Is a market top setting up?
5 Must-See Charts - views
Best Buy profit beats, sending shares higher
Ross Stores tops Street 3Q forecasts
Earnings Up 10.5% Last Quarter

Apple-backed Rockstar ends patent war on Android, deal suggests
Firefox dumps Google for Yahoo as default search engine
5 Best Android Phones to Buy This Holiday Season for Anyone

Stock Market Blog -Nov 16th

The market was pretty much flat all week, though AAPL and AMZN rallied. Gold also rallied, while Oil dropped. The equity market may be getting tired here after this monster rally for the past month. We get earnings from a couple of retailers this week.

Implied Volatility in BABA is still high, so selling Credit Spread options might make sense here, in anticipation of a drop in IV.

And our National Debt is quickly approaching the $18 trillion mark -thats $18,000,000,000,000!
(see clock on the left)

New all time highs:   AAPL, ADSK, BRK.B, COST, CVS, GMCR, JWN, MAR, RHI, RCL, SYF, UAL, WMT

All time lows:   ANGI

Pops:        Drops:    , 

Next week:  Economic reports,   Fed minutes...

Earnings:     HD, TGT, BBY

This week's charts:

S&P 500 -hanging near all time highs!
10yr Interest Rates
Labor Force Participation Rate (10 year chart)

Commodities/Futures (charts):
Crude Oil was down again, closing at $75.48 -heading under $70?

Natural Gas was down, closing at 4.15
Gold was up, closing at 1185 -still under $1200!

The 30 year Bond was up, closing at 142.19

The US Dollar was down slightly, closing at 87.40

NEWS:

The surge is over, but this is what's up next for stocks
Oil prices collapse as OPEC stands back, while US booms

China’s stock market cracks open

Japan's economy contracts in third quarter

Stock Market Blog -Nov 2nd

The market continued the huge rally this week, as the Dollar rallied and Gold plunged, thanks in part to the Bank of Japan announcing yet another stimulus program.

BABA reports earnings for the first time on Tuesday

New all time highs:   AAPL, AMGN, BIDU, CELG, CSX. DIS, GILD, HD, MA, MMM, MDT, LOW, NKE, TSO, UAL, UPS, V, and more!

All time lows:   AU, PWE

Pops:    GPRO, LNKD, MA, V    Drops:    FB,  TWTR, 

Next week:  Economic reports,   elections on Tuesday, ...monthly Jobs report on Friday!

Earnings:     

Mon -

Tue -BABA, CVS, KORS, PCLN

Wed -

Thu -DIS

Fri -

This week's charts:

S&P 500 -ALMOST A NEW ALL TIME HIGH!
10yr Interest Rates
Labor Force Participation Rate (10 year chart)

Commodities/Futures (charts):
Crude Oil was down again, closing at $80.33 -heading under $80!

Natural Gas rallied, closing at 4.04 -over $4
Gold dropped, closing at 1167 -back under $1200!

The 30 year Bond was down, closing at 141.25

The US Dollar was up again, closing at 87.30

NEWS:

Fed ends 6-year effort to stimulate economy (vid)
Alibaba stock bulls, bears load up before earnings
Google’s Expected $100 Billion Cash Pile Prompts Call for Dividend
Gold Extends Decline Toward Lowest Since 2010 as Silver Tumbles
.