Stock Market Blog -Jul 29th

The market rallied on Thursday and Friday on news that Europe 'might' take some action once again to address the financial debacle (the DOW closed over 13000 on Friday). We also have a Fed meeting next week, and some are speculating that we might get a QE3 announcement (financial stimulus). Bonds dropped (TLT) as the market rallied.

WMT hit a new all time high again. So did DIS and KO. I guess we are all shopping and having a good time!

Apple dropped after missing earnings estimates.
Facebook hit a new low after reporting earnings.


New all time highs:   ALXN, ATHN, COST, CL, DFS, DPS, ED, EQIX, EW, EXPE, DIS, KMB, ONXX, PEP, SWI, UA, WMT
All time lows:  ALU, FB, GRPN

Pops: AMZN, AUTH, EXPE, PNRA, S, SWI, WDC
Drops:  AAPL, BWLD, ISRG, NFLX, RSH, SBUX, TRIP, UPS, ZNGA

Can Radio Shack survive?

Next week: Economic reports
We have a Fed meeting next week, and on Friday we get the much anticipated monthly Jobs report.

Earnings reports:  Earnings season is winding down. Among companies reporting next week are: BP, CMI, MA, PFE, PG, STX



Market Commentary

The up-channel in the S&P500 is alive and well, and if it continues as before we could see a bit more upside, then another down-swing. We could see 1400 on the SPX, just like we saw 13000 this week on the DOW. The DOW is leading the way, with the Small Caps lagging (IWM). Remember the Jobs report on Friday!



This week's charts:
Weekly Unemployment claims
S&P 500 -nice rallly; up-channel still intact
OptionsMakeSense -trade with low cost and high probabilities

Commodities/Futures (charts):
Oil rallied, closing near $90.13
Natural Gas was mostly unchanged, closing near $3.02
Gold rallied, closing near $1618
The 30 year Bond dropped, closing near $150.03
The US Dollar dropped, closing near 82.77

NEWS:
Dow Reclaims 13,000 on ECB Stimulus Hopes
Jobs growth, Fed take center stage next week
Weighing The Week Ahead: Counting Too Much On Central Bankers? 
Despite Slowing Economy, Fed Is in No Hurry to Act
Facebook shares still way overvalued

Sorry Mr. President, Your Economic Plan Didn't Work
Japan trade deficit swells to $37B in first half

Stock Market Blog -Jul 15th

We got a nice rally on Friday after JPM and WFC reported earnings. WMT hit another all time high! Oil and Gold also rallied, along with Bonds. Next week we get a full slew of earnings reports, including BAC, C, GOOG, INTC, and GE.  Visa, MasterCard, and other banks agreed to a $7.5 billion settlement with retailers for overcharging them!

Another Futures broker was shut down this week (PFG Best) after it was discovered that they were missing $200 million of customer money. Another California city declared bankruptcy this week (San Bernadino). PCX also filed for bankruptcy (a coal company).

 
New all time highs:   AMT,  CCI, CL, KMB , LQD , VTR, WMT, XLP, XLV
All time lows:  ANR, SVU, VXX

Pops:
Drops:  AMD, CMI, DF, HGG, LXK, MAKO, QCOR, SVU

Next week: Economic reports 
Options expiration on Friday!!  GOOG earnings on Thursday.

Earnings reports:
Mon: C,
Tue: GS, JNJ, INTC, KO, YHOO
Wed: AXP, BAC, YUM
Thu: GOOG, MSFT
Fri: GE


Market Commentary

 Looks like we've resumed the up-channel after Friday's rally (chart above). If we don't get any earnings surprises, we will probably see some more up-side, especially with Options expiration coming up on Friday -a lot of people are short this market and will get squeezed. See sample trade on GOOG earnings using options (OptionsMakeSense).

Did the US Dollar double top this week?
If it did, we could see stocks rally some more!


This week's charts:
Weekly Unemployment claims
S&P 500 -back in rally mode for now
OptionsMakeSense -trade with low cost and high probabilities

Commodities/Futures (charts):
Oil rallied, closing near $87.10
Natural Gas was mostly unchanged, closing near $2.87
Gold rallied, closing near $1592
The 30 year Bond rallied, closing near $151.19
The US Dollar was mostly unchanged, closing near 83.48
Grains rallied again!

NEWS:
Wall Street Week Ahead: Earnings, Bernanke promise active week
Stocks: Earnings and Fed action in play
Consumer sentiment lowest since December
Bernanke Goes to Washington in Coming Week
After MF Global, Another Brokerage Firm Collapses With $200 Million Missing
PFG founder Wasendorf arrested in fraud case
Banks face billions more in Libor losses
Bank of America Slashes Jobs in Commercial Banking 

Patriot Coal Files for Bankruptcy Protection in New York
California Cities Go Bankrupt, But Bullet Train Barrels On
San Bernardino becomes 3rd Calif. city in 2 weeks to file for bankruptcy protection
Yahoo Confirms 400,000 Passwords Stolen in Hack
Propping up the gold price

Stock Market Blog -Jul 8th

The market gave up some gains this week after another disappointing monthly Jobs report on Friday. WMT bucked the trend and hit an all time high! China and Europe reduced interest rates, and the Bank of England announced more bond buying! Lots of stimulus, but with little results. Earnings season begins next week, and will probably determine market direction for the next few weeks.


New all time highs:   CVS DFS IBB KMB LNCR LQD WMT
All time lows:  GRPN

Pops: NFLX
Drops

Next week: Economic reports 

Earnings reports begin:
Mon: AA
Tue:
Wed:
Thu: FAST
Fri: JPM, WFC


Market Commentary

The market chop continues. Earnings reports begin this week (including GOOG and JPM), with lots more the following week. I expect we'll see some disappointments, and maybe a corresponding drop in the markets. The short-term up-trend channel is still intact though. Volatility should increase, providing opportunities for those that trade options.

This week's charts:
Weekly Unemployment claims
S&P 500 -more pullback this week?
OptionsMakeSense -trade with low cost and high probabilities

Commodities/Futures (charts):
Oil rallied a bit, closing near $84.45
Natural Gas rallied, then pulled back, closing near $2.78
Gold pulled back, closing near $1579
The 30 year Bond rallied, closing near $149.88
The US Dollar rallied, closing near 83.56
Grains rallied again!

NEWS:
Investors shake as economy stalls
June Job Creation at 80,000; Rate Holds Steady at 8.2%
Earnings Are the Next Big Test for Stocks
Investors' focus shifts to earnings
Investors continue to flee stocks
The real national security threat: America's debt 
Why American workers are worse off today

Three Central Banks Act to Stimulate More Borrowing
Drought Stalks the Global Food Supply
Euro falls to two-year low against dollar
Explainer: Why the LIBOR scandal is a bigger deal than JPMorgan
Signs We Are Approaching a Zombie Economy
BRICs Priced for Economic Meltdown

Stock Market Blog -Jul 1st

The market rallied back up this week, with a strong surge on Friday, following the news that the European financial crisis was put on hold, again :)

Gold ans Oil surged on the news too, a reversal from the prior week. Among DOW stocks, DIS, WMT, and VZ broke to new all time highs -interesting!

NKE dropped on Friday, amidst the huge market rally.


New all time highs:   ABT, AMT, CL, COST, CVS, DIS, HSY, VZ, WMT
All time lows:  VXX

Pops: 
Drops:  CMG, NKE, ORLY, ROST

Next week: Economic reports  Markets closed on Wednesday (4th July), and half day on Tuesday.
Monthly jobs report on Friday.
Earnings reports:


Market Commentary

The market reversed trend again, this time to the up-side -its been a choppy market to say the least. I still maintain that the rally will continue until we get to earnings reports in a couple of weeks. Watch out for this week's jobs report on Friday too. With the mid-week holiday, things will probably be quiet till the Friday jobs report. We seem to be forming an up 'channel' pattern in the indexes (chart below).



This week's charts:
Weekly Unemployment claims
S&P 500 -(last week's comment: more up-side next week?) -well, we got it!
OptionsMakeSense -trade with high probabilities

Commodities/Futures (charts):
Oil rallied on Friday, closing near $84.96
Natural Gas was up a bit, closing near $2.82
Gold rallied on Friday, closing near $1604
The 30 year Bond was down again, closing near $147.97
The US Dollar was down a bit, closing near 81.76

NEWS:
Stocks Soar; Dow Posts Best June Since 1997
Wall St ends weak quarter with a bang
Forget the Beach—Traders Will Want to Be at Their Desks
Here Are Four Good Reasons Not to Trust Today's Rally

Google unveils $199 'Nexus 7' tablet
RIM's Q1 much worse than expected: BlackBerry 10 delayed
RIM to cut 5,000 jobs, delay new phones
Stockton, California files for bankruptcy