THE FINAL NUMBERS – Monday Bounce

NEWS: The major indices were bid higher Monday as the beaten down foreign markets gave the US a boost overnight. With an hour left in trading the Dow was up 235 points or 2.7%. The S&P 500 was near the high of the day, up 27 points or 2.7%. The NASDAQ, which has been lagging all day, gained 30 points or 1.8%. Oil was up over 3% and gold was up $5/ounce.

THE BOTTOMLINE:  After retesting the multi-year low on Thursday, the indices were able to continue the short-term rebound - if you want to call a 200-point gain on the Dow a rebound. The way things have been recently, a 200-point move on the Dow could be achieved in minutes, not an entire day. That being said you have to start somewhere and I was happy to see a decrease in volatility to begin the week. Also impressive about the action was the broad-based buying. Everything from utilities to health care to energy was having solid days as buyers finally woke up fo ... Read More »

THE FINAL NUMBERS

NEWS: The major indices were able to hold onto modest gains today after both testing negative territory and a mid-day rally. The Dow closed up 53 points or 0.4%. The S&P 500 gained 5 points or 0.4%. The NASDAQ had a solid day, adding 12 points or 0.5%.

THE BOTTOMLINE:  The S&P 500 is sitting just below the important 1400 level and really close enough to consider it at the support/resistance area. As long as the index can hold in this area it proves nothing on the upside or downside. The next high volume move in either direction will be the first signal of the coming trend.

Looking at the PFG Breakout Scan at today’s close there were 141 stock/ETFs that made the cut and a few that caught my attention. A number of oil & gas stocks such a ... Read More »

THE FINAL NUMBERS

NEWS: A mildly weak open turned into one of the worst days in weeks for the US stock market. The Dow finished the day lower by 207 points or 1.6%. The S&P 500 took a bigger hit, dropping 25 points or 1.8%. The NASDAQ tumbled 44 points or 1.8%. Oil closed at a new record high, finishing up $1.69 at $123.53/barrel. Gold fell $6.50 to $871.20/ounce after the US Dollar rose.

THE BOTTOMLINE: The market was due for a pullback, but I am not happy with the magnitude of today’s drop that took the S&P 500 back below the 1400 breakout level. I expect a quick snap back above 1400 by the end of the week if the bulls want to remain in control of this market. A failure to get back above 1400 on the S&P 500 is very negative in the short-term and will result in technical selling, especially in the financials. The financial ... Read More »

THE FINAL NUMBERS

NEWS: Early morning losses turned into a strong day for Wall Street. The Dow closed the session up 55 points or 0.4%. The S&P 500 rallied 10 points or 0.8% and the NASDAQ also jumped ... Read More »

THE FINAL NUMBERS

NEWS: The breakdown of the merger between Microsoft (symbol: MSFT) Yahoo (symbol: YHOO) over the weekend and a surge in oil to $120 sent the markets lower to begin the week. The Dow closed o ... Read More »

THE FINAL NUMBERS

NEWS: High volatility was expected because of the Fed meeting. When the closing bell rang the Dow was down 11 points or 0.1% after hitting a 3 1/2-month high of 13,010. The S&P 500 also fell, losing 5 points or 0.4% to close at 1385. The index once again failed to close above the resistance level of 1400 after hitting an intraday high of 1404. The NASDAQ took the biggest hit, falling 13 points or 0.6%. Just like its peers, the tech-heavy index hit a new 3-month intraday high before dropping. Gold finished the regular session down $11, but rallied back after the Fed announcement to hit the $880 level. Crude fell again, closing at $113.46/barrel, off $2.17.

THE BOTTOMLINE: It appeared the market was finally going to break out with all three indices hitting 3-month highs after the Fed announcement. But just as all good ralli ... Read More »

THE FINAL NUMBERS

NEWS: After a mostly negative day, the major indices moved into positive territory for a brief time in the afternoon hours. When the closing bell rang the Dow was down 39 points or 0.3%. The S&P 500 was off 5 points or 0.4% and the NASDAQ held onto a small gain of 1 point. Gold and oil both took beatings today as investors continued exiting commodities.

THE BOTTOMLINE: Today the trading range remained narrow as investors await the Fed’s decision on interest rates tomorrow afternoon. The consensus is looking for a 25 basis point rate cut down to 2.0% on the Fed Funds rate. Any number other than .25% will be a major surprise to the market. The other surprise could be in the comments that are released with the rate decision. The Fed will likely comment on its strategy for future meetings and analysts will read into every wor ... Read More »

THE FINAL NUMBERS

NEWS: The indices closed mixed with the Dow closing down 24 points or 0.2%. The S&P 500 lost 2 points or 0.2%. The NASDAQ held onto a gain of 5 points or 0.2%. Crude closed at a new all-time high and gold gained $2.40 to close at $917.60/ounce.

THE BOTTOMLINE: The Dow held above the breakout level of 12,750 with a close of 12,825. What really impressed me was the pullback to 12,751 intraday before the index rallied to close 75 points off the low. If the action for the remainder of the week continues you can expect the S&P 500 to be the next index to breakout and confirm our next uptrend. BUT, if the Dow fails to hold 12,750 and the S&P cannot break above 1400 the tables will be turned in favor of the bears. If I had to make an educated guess I would go with the bulls in the next few weeks, but in reality I ... Read More »

BULLS & BEARS THIS WEEK!

Catch Matt McCall this weekend on Fox New Channel’s “Bulls & Bears”. Matt joins the regular crew to discuss the stock market and individual stocks. This week the show will air at 2pm ET due to the Pope’s visit. Make sure to set you DVR’s for one of the most watched shows on cable news.

THE FINAL NUMBERS

NEWS: More solid earnings news from the likes of Google (symbol: GOOG), Caterpillar (symbol: CAT), Schlumberger (symbol: SLB), and Citigroup (symbol: C). The Dow finished higher by 230 points or 1.8%. The S&P 500 also gained 1.8% or 25 points. The NASDAQ surged with a gain of 61 points or 2.6%.

THE BOTTOMLINE: The big news is that earnings continue to roll out bette ... Read More »