Stock Market Blog -Dec 26th

The market inched up again this week on very light volume, while Bonds drifted down. The VIX continues to drift down as well, approaching the April low, as well as the 2008 low.

New unemployment claims for the week fell to 420,000 (chart).
This week, no banks were shut down by the FDIC! (list).

Next week: (Economic reports link). Light trading week expected due to the holidays.

Market commentary: I expect we'll close out the year at right about the current level. After the 1st of January, we could see some volatility as traders position for the new year and for a new batch of earnings reports.

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL!

Commodities (charts):
Oil prices continued to rise, closing just over $91 per barrel.
Natural Gas was mostly unchanged, closing near $4.00.
Gold dropped a bit, closing around $1375.
The 30 year Bond dropped again, closing near $120'16.
The US Dollar index was mostly flat, closing around 80.80.

News:
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Stock Market Blog -Dec 19th

* * * Happy Holidays to all * * *

The market was mostly flat this week of Options expiration, though US Bonds sold off again. Meanwhile the financial problems in Europe continue to weigh on markets. In Washington the House and Senate passed the tax-cut extension, as well as a payroll tax reduction for 2011, all bullish news for the market.

ORCL popped after their earnings announcement, and has now more than doubled since the market low in March 2009.

BBY plunged after reporting earnings. BIDU sold off this week too.

V and MA plunged after the Federal Reserve announced a plan to cut debit card fees.

New all time highs:
ACN, APKT, CAT, COH, CTSH, DECK, ESRX, INTU, KMX, NKE, LULU, TCK, TIF

New unemployment claims for the week fell to 420,000 (chart).
This week, six more banks were shut down by the FDIC! (list).

Next week: (Economic reports link). Short holiday week -markets will be closed on Friday.

Market commentary: I'm not looking for much action in the markets this week as we approach year end, though we could see a correction from the overbought condition, before earnings season begins again in January.

Commodities (charts):
Oil prices dropped a bit, closing near $88 per barrel.
Natural Gas dropped, closing near $4.00.
Gold dropped, closing around $1378.
The 30 year Bond dropped again, closing near $122'27.
The US Dollar index was up, closing around 80.75.

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Stock Market Blog -Dec 12th

The market drifted higher this week, and looks poised to continue with a year end rally. The S&P500 is now at at two year high! This week we also saw a big drop in Bond prices (higher interest rates coming). Gold and Silver might be losing some strength too.

C and HD were up nicely.

All time highs: CAR, CAT, COH, CRM, CY, ESRX, FFIV, LULU, RAX, SINA, WLT

ALL TIME LOWS: FAZ, DXD, SDS, QID, TZA -leveraged market indexes!
Continue to avoid these things.


New unemployment claims for the week rose unexpectedly to 421,000 (chart).
This week, two more banks were shut down by the FDIC! (list).

Next week: (Economic reports link). Also Friday, Options expiration for the month and the
quarter, and of course, year end.

We also get earnings reports from BBY, FDX, GIS, and ORCL.

Market commentary: This week the market continued to rally a bit. I'm looking for the year-end rally to continue, and for the S&P to move up to 1300 on this rally -probably in January sometime. The DOW is still playing catchup to the other indexes, with the small-cap Russell leading the way.

Also note that the QQQQ is now almost at a 3+ year resistance high from Sep '07.

Commodities (charts):
Oil prices dropped a bit, closing near $87.80 per barrel.
Natural Gas was up then pulled back, closing near $4.40.
Gold dropped, closing around $1384.
The 30 year Bond dropped sharply, closing near $123.
The US Dollar index was up, closing around 80.

Commodities topping? ...Bonds continue to drop...

News:
US Stocks Close Friday With Biggest Gains Of Quiet Week
U.S. Stocks Advance After Consumer Confidence Report, GE's Dividend Boost
Financial sector adds to gains
Treasuries Drop, S&P 500 Gains as Economic Data Top Forecasts
U.S. Home Values to Drop by $1.7 Trillion This Year, Zillow Says
U.S. trade deficit narrows to $38.7 billion
National Deficit Grows on Higher Government Spending

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Consumer sentiment rises in December
Shares of A&P plunge on bankruptcy talk
China's Inflation Tops 5%, Adding Pressure for Wen to Raise Interest Rates

Stock Market Blog -Dec 5th

December kicked off with a bang, with the market gapping up on Wednesday. Friday had some disappointing job numbers for November though.

All time highs: ABX, AEM, CAT, CEF, CMI, CY, DRI, FDO, FFIV, GLD, KMX, LTD, MCD, RAX, SINA, SLW, SLV, TCK, TIF, UNP, WIN, WLT, XRT (retailers!)

ALL TIME LOWS: SDS, QID, TZA -leveraged market indexes! Avoid these things.

25 High Growth Stock Being Chased by the Smart Money

New unemployment claims for the week rose unexpectedly to 436,000 (chart).
This week, no banks were shut down by the FDIC! (list).

Next week: (Economic reports link). Consumer spending reports and Consumer sentiment...

Market commentary: This week the market rallied to a resistance level near 1227 on the S&P500 and 2593 on the NASDAQ. Next week will tell us whether the market will bounce off this level, or continue to go higher. I'm looking for a year-end rally maybe.

The RSI indicator suggests some divergence though. Volume is also low.


Commodities (charts):
Oil prices were up again, closing near $89 per barrel.
Natural Gas was mostly unchanged, closing near $4.40.
Gold was up near its all time high, and closed around $1414.
The 30 year Bond was down as stocks rallied, closing near $125'20.
The US Dollar index was down, closing around 79.20.

News:
Stocks pull higher after payrolls data questioned
A Joyless Jobless Report
Loss of jobless benefits could be serious blow to U.S. economy
Dow transports gain, industrials to follow
Bernanke on '60 Minutes': Grim outlook for jobs

China’s Gold Imports Soar Almost Fivefold on Inflation Concern
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Top Seven Most Profitable Gold Stocks
Investing in Silver in 2011
Only one of the PIIGS matters. S is for Spain.