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

Stock Market update -Sep 27th

The market was down this week, maybe looking to hit the lows of August. NKE popped after announcing great earnings. CAT dropped after reducing sales forecasts and announcing huge layoffs. IBB saw a big drop also. We could see the indexes going back to the Aug 24 flash crash lows so be careful.

New all time highs:    ATVI,  CUBE
All time lows:    ABEV, BSBR, EC, NWSA,  
Pops     NKE     Drops:      CAT  
Mergers/Deals:  

Next week:  Economic reports,   

Earnings:      

This week's charts:

S&P 500 -topped! 

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

Commodities/Futures (charts):

Natural Gas dropped a bit, closing near 2.55

Crude Oil was mostly unchanged, closing near 45.34

Gold was up, closing near 1145 -still holding above $1100

The 30 year Bond was up a bit, closing near 155.62  -could be going to 160?

The US Dollar was up a bit,  closing near 96.43

NEWS:

Economic data this week to reflect impact of market turmoil
IBB biotech fund posts largest weekly drop in 7 years
'Fast Money' Recap: Nike Shows China's Consumers Are Still Buying
4 Tarnished Gold-Mining Stocks Now Too Cheap to Ignore

Stock Market update -Sep 20th

The market ended the week mostly unchanged, after rallying then dropping, following the Fed announcement on Thursday. Financials dropped following the Fed's decision. Gold and Gold miners rallied. We continue to drift without direction since the big drop in August.

New all time highs:    EXPE, TAP, 
All time lows:    BSBR, 
Pops          Drops:        
Mergers/Deals:  

Next week:  Economic reports,   

Earnings:      BBRY, NKE

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 dropped a bit

Crude Oil was mostly unchanged

Gold was up -still holding above $1100

The 30 year Bond was up a bit  -could be going to 160?

The US Dollar was down a bit

NEWS:

Dow closes off triple digits as Fed weighs
Yellen Flinches

Dovish Fed scares financial markets

Apple customers report devices crashing on iOS 9 update

HP to cut another 25,000 to 30,000 jobs
VW sees billions wiped off market value after rigging claims

Stock Market update -Sep 13th

The market was up a bit for this shortened week. This coming week is eagerly awaited, to find out how the market reacts on Thursday to the Fed statements on interest rates. We could see movement in all asset classes. I believe they will raise rates, the question is, how will the market react -it could go either way. Meanwhile Gold and Bonds were down this week, and Oil also pulled back a little.

AMZN and FB seem to be recovering from the August drop, while NFLX, GRPO, AMBA, LNG, X, ABX, and others seem to losing ground. AAPL had their big announcement, but the stock had little reaction. For Options traders, Implied Volatility remains elevated, presenting good trading opportunities.

New all time highs:    CDW, PLAY, BWLD
All time lows:    GFI
Pops          Drops:       MFRM, MRVL, ZUMZ, 
Mergers/Deals:  

Next week:  Economic reports,   ...highly anticipated Fed meeting!

Earnings:      ADBE, FDX, GIS, ORCL 

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 unchanged, closing at $2.68

Crude Oil was down a bit, closing near $44.78

Gold dropped again, closing near $1107 -but holding above $1100

The 30 year Bond was down, closing near 154.65  -could still be going to 165?

The US Dollar was down, closing at 95.20

NEWS:

Wall Street climbs, S&P 500 posts best week since July
Forget new Apple products—THIS is the issue
If Apple can't stream an iPhone 6 event, is there really an enterprise story?
Gold's going to $1,000: Technician
Economist: China situation spells global recession
China is dumping U.S. debt

Stock Market update -Sep 6th

Another week of losses in the market, with the indexes closing down a little over 3%. The S&P500 may still test the low of August and/or last October, so fasten your seatbelt! The monthly Jobs report on Friday was kind of weak too.

Forget about all the talk about the Fed raising interest rates, or the problems in China, or the Dollar, and how it might affect the markets. Just trade what you see on the charts -"only price pays" (Brian Shannon). Trade what you see, not what you think.

No strength in any of the big names like NFLX, AAPL, AMZN, GOOGL, BAC, GS, XOM...
Implied Volatility (for Options traders) will probably remain high until after the Fed meeting this month.

GMCR and TWTR may be finally getting some buyers. Likewise for some of the beaten down stocks in Energy and Gold Mining -we could be close to a bottom in those two sectors. However, only 'trade what you see, not what you think'. AAPL is expected to make some new product announcements next week.

The Shanghai market may have much further to fall (below)!

New all time highs:    none!
All time lows:    
Pops          Drops:        DLTR, 
Mergers/Deals:  Canada's Emera to buy Teco Energy

Next week:  Economic reports,   

Earnings:       LULU, PANW

This week's charts:

Brazil, Russia, India, China

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 unchanged, closing at $2.65

Crude Oil was up a bit, closing near $45.77

Gold dropped again, closing near $1122 -but holding above $1100

The 30 year Bond was up, closing near 155.90  -could still be going to 165?

The US Dollar was up, closing at 96.23

NEWS:

Dow posts triple-digit drop, caps second worst week in 2015
Stocks Plumb New Lows in Volatile End to Week
‘Bearish divergence’ is warning investors not to buy the dip in the stock market 
US employers add 173K jobs in August; rate falls to 5.1 pct.
Leveraged Financial Speculation In The US At A Familiar Peak, Once Again

Here’s what to expect at Apple’s event next week
Report: Google planning to reenter China w/ special Play Store, Android Wear support, more
BlackBerry acquires Good Technology for $425 million, accelerates software plans
Does China's Stock Market Have Further To Fall?
Brutal! The two stocks down 70 percent in a year (vid)
Canada officially enters recession

Stock Market update Aug 30th

Volatility continued this week with huge swings in both directions. The DOW opened the week by dropping over 1000 points, after China dropped more than 8%! Concerns about China, interest rate changes from the Fed, and other issues had traders on edge. Oil finally recovered some of its losses this week too, and the 2nd quarter GDP revision was also better than expected. Gold and Energy stocks rallied, and the market was actually up for the week! Aside from the currency, commodity,  and stock volatility, this coming week we also have the Jobs report due on Friday morning.

From a chart perspective (technical analysis), we have clearly broken support levels that were holding up all year, and broke them in a big way. This typically indicates further downside action to come. Sunday night Futures point to a 1% lower open on Monday, as China markets are already down 3%. Could be a rocky week.

New all time highs:    ATVI (being added to the S&P 500)
All time lows:    
Pops     BBY     Drops:        
Mergers/Deals:  

Next week:  Economic reports,   Monthly Jobs report on Friday

Earnings:      COST, CPB, DLTR, 

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 unchanged, closing at $2.67

Crude Oil finally rebounded, closing near $44.45

Gold dropped, closing near $1133 -holding above $1100

The 30 year Bond dropped, closing near 157.34 -could still be going to 165?

The US Dollar was unchanged, closing at 95.65

NEWS:

What a wild week for stocks!
The market correction explained — in 5 questions and answers
China Is Selling U.S. Treasuries And The Impact Could Be Huge
Comcast's super-fast cable Internet is coming

Why The Great Petrodollar Unwind Could Be $2.5 Trillion Larger Than Anyone Thinks
The Real Reason Commodities Collapsed
3 charts explain how oil is roiling world currencies
Brazil has 2 kinds of problems, and they're both bad