Daily State of the Markets
So, Greece is Not the Word?
To be sure, this market has been all about oil recently. While there definitely have been other distractions, it has become quite clear that Wall Street's trading machines had joined the movements of oil and stock prices at the hip. And although one could argue that the dollar and bond yi…
Tip of the Day: It's Still All About Oil
If nothing else, Tuesday's joyride to the upside in the stock market demonstrated that this market remains all about oil. As such, it shouldn't surprise investors to learn that stock futures in the U.S. are following oil lower this morning.
However, there are several other inputs …
Traders Eyeing the Line in the Sand
Although the intraday direction in the stock market is driven largely by algorithmic trading these days and can change at the drop of a hat (which is actually an eternity when measured in milliseconds), the recent price action would seem to suggest that the worries in the market are becom…
The Important Message From Earnings Season
Oil didn't go down. Bank stocks in Greece didn't crash. The dollar didn't make a new high. And rates didn't put in a new low. As a result, traders and their computers in the U.S. had the green light to hit the buy button for much of the day on Thursday.
Yep, that's what this chopp…
Recent Tape Action is Worrisome
Are we having fun yet? If you are someone who attempts to manage risk and/or play the trends in the market the answer is likely a resounding, NO!
What's the problem, you ask? The short answer is the price action has been more than a little nutty lately as the market has been movin…
Stuck In The Middle With You
The question of the day would seem to be if the stock market's fundamentals, which look to be faltering a bit lately, will trump the tailwinds provided by the money printing programs of the BOJ and ECB.
Stocks rallied in front of the launch of the latest QE program as this time, i…
Negative Inputs May Cause Investors to Rethink Bull Premise
It appears that investors can add punk earnings and weak U.S. economic data to their list of worries this morning. And the reaction in the market looks like it will be swift.
Since Monday, earnings from bellwether companies such as Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT), Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT)…
Where Will The Focus Be?
On Friday, we noted that the S&P 500 had recently experienced two 5-day declines within ten days of the first one starting. Although the number of historical occurrences are few (the pattern had only been seen 4 other times in history) and the result would seem to be counterintuitive,…
History Suggests Bulls May Be Ready to Run Again
Oftentimes it is difficult to step away from the blinking screens, the headlines, and the flow of data long enough to fully observe the "big picture" environment. Such has certainly been the case lately as the focus on oil and what central bankers may or may not do next has dominated the …