WHAT IT MEANS TO YOU: Wow, wouldn’t that be amazi ... Read More »

CLOSING NUMBERS

NEWS: Dow put together a solid day after trading lower for three consecutive sessions. The index closed up 99 points or 0.7% after coming within 85 points of the all-time closing high of 14,000. The S&P 500 gained 8 points or 0.5% as the NASDAQ gained 15 points or 0.6%.

WHAT IT MEANS TO YOU: All three indices had solid days with the Dow outperforming due to strength in GM and a boost in the brokers. (Rumors Buffett may be interested in Bear Stearns?) The internals showed strength with the advancers winning by a 2-to-1 margin. All-in-all it was a good day, but I am not as happy as I should be.  Some of our stocks did really well today, but I have this gut feeling that we are due for a pullback of approximately 2%. Therefore I will be patient in entering new positions, but on any healthy weakness I will be like a ki ... Read More »

When the closing bell rang today I have to admit I was a little surprised to see quite a bit of green on the screen. As you will read in a moment, the news was not good this morning and the markets were immediately on the defensive. It appears we are back into the market environment when bad is good. The poor economic and earnings numbers this morning are viewed as more fuel for the Fed rate cut machine.

The result was a gain of 19 points for the Dow, 15 points for the NASDAQ, and a flat day for the S&P 500. For the second consecutive day the NASDAQ was able to outperform its counterparts as technology continues to flex its muscles. What do Apple (symbol: AAPL), Google (symbol: GOOG), and Research in Motion (symbol: RIMM) all have in common? All three closed at their best levels ever today!

The next round of technology leaders have staked ... Read More »

TIME FOR A BREATHER

After posting gains of 2.8% last week, the markets are taking a breather and pondering what is next for the Fed, Earnings, Inflation, and Stocks.

The Dow closed the day off 46 points or 0.4%, the S&P 500 dropped 8 points or 0.5%, and the NASDAQ held up well with a mere loss of 3 points or 0.1%.

Today’s economic calendar was light, but that is not the case for the remainder of the week. Consumer Confidence for September and Existing Home Sales for August kick it off tomorrow and the “big one” hits the wires on Friday – the PCE Deflator, which is the Fed’s #1 gauge of inflation. Expect high volatility again this week as investors second-guess the move by the Fed to cut rates and react to the daily economic numbers.

Read More »

The expiration of four types of options today occurs once per quarter and is termed, “quadruple witching”. Typically the volatility will be above normal as the options expire and moved is shifted. That was not really the case today as the major indices traded within a normal range. What did take place today was a surge in volume do to the unwinding.

When the closing bell rang the Dow was up 53 points or 0.4%; for the week the industrials were up 2.8% and came within 123 points of a new high all-time today. The S&P 500 gained nearly 7 points or 0.5% and closed out the week with a gain of 2.08%. Finally the NASDAQ led the charge today with a gain of 17 points or 0.6%. On the week the NASDAQ rallied 2.7%.

The one bit of negative news I can take from this week was that investors could not send the indices into the weekend on the high of the s ... Read More »