Stock Market Blog -Jul 27th

The market was mixed this week among geopolitical concerns and mixed earnings reports. The NASDAQ 100 continues to lead though, while the Small-cap Russell is lagging.

-AMZN dropped $34 after reporting earnings. Shares also dropped in DNKN, MCD, V, P, QCOM, and XLNX.
-FB and CMG rallied, as did BIDU, CIT, ISRG, VRSN, UA, Z, TRLA

New all time highs:   ATVI, BIDU, CMG, FB, HCA, LUV, UA, TRLA, Z
All time lows:   -TCS

Pops:    ,    Drops:  

Next week:  Economic reports,  * Fed meeting, Monthly Jobs report, more Earnings *

Hi flyers...

Bouncing off the top...

Earnings:     
MON  - CMI, HLF, SU

TUE  -AXP, AMGN, ESRX, BP, MRK, PFE, TWTR, UPS

WED  -MET, PSX, WMB, WFM

THU  -APA, COP, CL, MA, OXY, TWC, TSLA, XOM, 

FRI -CVX, PG

Market Commentary

Earnings season continues, and maybe we'll get more sideways action. Watch out however for the Jobs report on Friday, and also possible reaction after the Fed meeting. The up-trend is still intact, except maybe for the Small-caps (IWM) -chart below.

Implied Volatility in the Options market is trending higher. If you are an Options trader, Credit Spreads become more attractive here, especially with earnings events.

The Nasdaq Composite may be setting up for a 'double top'

This week's charts:

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

Commodities/Futures (charts):
Crude Oil dropped, closing around $102.09 -holding above $100

Natural Gas dropped, closing near 3.78
Gold dropped a bit, closing at $1303 -holding above $1300

The 30 year Bond was up again, closing near 138.65

The US Dollar was up also, closing near 81.12

NEWS:

Stocks end week on sour note
Week Ahead: July Jobs Report, FOMC, GDP and Earnings
Busiest week of the summer coming up (vid)
Microsoft May Be A Good Short From Here
Microsoft Heading Toward All-Time High On Strong Cloud Momentum
Investors are fed up with Amazon, says analyst
Zuckerberg Wealthier Than Google's Brin, Page

Based on the Non-Massaged Data, the US is Back in Recession
Billionaire Warns: Yellen Collapse 'Will Be Unlike Any Other'
Gold's Fundamentally-Driven Strong Season Getting Underway
Top Ranked Gold And Silver Miners To Own Today
S&P warns Europe debt market near pre-crash levels
China’s debt soars to 250% of GDP

Stock Market Blog -JUL 20TH

The market was mostly flat, and actually rallied on Friday, in spite of the global events taking place. I'm guessing that Options expiration on Friday had something to do with the rally. Gold dropped, and Oil rallied back above $100. MSFT announced 18,000 job cuts, and rallied on the news.

New all time highs:   
All time lows:   -

Pops:    MSFT,    Drops:  AMD, SNDK, YUM

Next week:  Economic reports,  

Earnings:     
MON  - CMG, HAL, NFLX, TXN

TUE  -ARMH, AAPL, DD, MSFT, VZ, KO, UTX, MCD

WED  -BA, BIIB, FB, MO, PEP, QCOM, GILD, T

THU  -AMZN, BIDU, SBUX, F, CAT, CELG, GM, MMM, V

FRI -

Market Commentary

Next week earnings season continues, with more Tech companies reporting. Again, we could see this market begin to show signs of topping.

Implied Volatility in the Options market is trend higher. If you are an Options trader, Credit Spreads begin to look more attractive here, especially with earnings events.

This week's charts:

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

Commodities/Futures (charts):
Crude Oil closed around $103 -holding above $100

Natural Gas dropped, closing near 3.86
Gold dropped, closing at $1309 -holding above $1300

The 30 year Bond was up, closing near 138.10

The US Dollar was up a bit, closing near 80.60

NEWS:

Microsoft to cut 18,000 jobs this year as it chops Nokia

Ukraine says Malaysian airliner shot down, 295 dead: agency

Stock Market Blog -Jul 13th

The market pulled back this week, but the up-trend is still intact (the small-cap IWM saw a big pullback). With a slew of earnings reports scheduled for next week, as well as Options expiration on Friday, it's hard to tell where the next move might take us. Gold rallied and so did Bonds, while Oil and Natural Gas dropped. Also in the commodities market, Grains have been dropping (chart below).

New all time highs:   
All time lows:   -

Pops:    ,    Drops:  LL

Next week:  Economic reports,  

Grain prices have been dropping...

Earnings:     
MON  -C

TUE  -BAC, INTC, JNJ, JPM, YHOO

WED  -EBAY, 

THU  -GOOG, IBM, MS

FRI -BK, GE, HON

Market Commentary

Next week begins earnings season again, with a number of Tech companies reporting. We could see this market begin to show signs of topping.

Implied Volatility in the Options market is beginning to trend higher. If you are an Options trader, Credit Spreads begin to look more attractive here, especially with earnings events.

This week's charts:

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

Commodities/Futures (charts):
Crude Oil dropped, closing at 100.83 -now barely holding above $100

Natural Gas dropped, closing at 4.14
Gold was up, closing at $1321 -holding above $1337

The 30 year Bond was up, closing near 137.37

The US Dollar was down a bit, closing at 80.23

NEWS:

Stocks close higher ahead of major earnings week
What investors are looking for in tech earnings next week
Citigroup Leads Parade of Bank Earnings Next Week
Cramer’s game plan: 10 earnings plays for next week

Mutual fund outflows hit $7.8 billion on Fed rate hike fears
Bull market in its final stage: Ed Yardeni
China's economic growth quickened in Q2: Premier

Stock Market Blog -Jul 6th

We got a good Jobs report on Thursday and the market rallied some more, with the DOW closing over 17000 for the first time. The unemployment rate fell from 6.3% to 6.1%, with 288,000 new jobs created in June. Bonds dropped, as did Oil, and Utilities (XLU).

New all time highs:   ABT, ATVI, CSX, CELG, DIS, EXPE, GILD, JNJ, MMM, SNDK, PNC, QCOR, WFC, WLP,  UNH, YUM, etc.
All time lows:   -

Pops:    PETM,    Drops:  

Next week:  Economic reports,  

Earnings:     

Market Commentary

Last week's comments:  "I continue to think we will see the S&P500 hit the 2000 mark, and the Small Caps (IWM -Russell 2000) finally take out their previous high near 120. the long term up-trend is still in place."

Well, we're almost there! The DOW did take out 17,000 though (not mentioned last week). The rally probably has a little more steam left in it. Then we start getting earnings reports.

Once again, this week Implied Volatility in the Options market continues to hold near multi-year lows. If you are an Options trader, because of the low Volatility, this is a good time to trade Calendar Spreads, or trade long positions on the VIX or other volatility products.

This week's charts:

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

Commodities/Futures (charts):
Crude Oil was mostly flat, closing at 103.77 -holding above $100

Natural Gas was mostly unchanged, closing at 4.36
Gold was mostly unchanged, closing at $1321 -holding above $1300

The 30 year Bond was down a bit, closing near 135.18

The US Dollar was up a bit, closing at 80.28

NEWS:

Don't ditch your U.S. stocks just yet
Great jobs report: Strong hiring, unemployment down
Jobs return, but low pay remains a problem

Pimco’s Gross Bets $200 Million of Own Cash on Low Interest Rate

Starbucks: Undervalued With A Price Target Of $101
Covered Calls – $1,000 in July Options Income
Top performing stocks of the first half