Daily State of the Markets
There Are Reasons To Stay Bullish Here
A month ago, the sky was falling. The technical divergences seen in the market were coming home to roost. Growth was slowing. Indicators were falling. Moving averages were snapping. There was fear in the air. And for the first time in a very long time, it looked like the bears might actua…
Isn't It Odd That...
Although the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average indices enjoyed pretty good gains Wednesday and finished at fresh all-time highs, the rest of the major indices failed to join the party. And the NASDAQ, NASDAQ 100, and Microcap indexes actually finished lower.
To be sure …
Is Uncertainty Creeping In?
It's been quite a roller coaster ride on Wall Street lately. Since the dog days of July (7/24/14 to be exact) the S&P 500 has been on a wild ride. In a period of just a little more than three months, the venerable stock market index has experienced a pullback of -4.35 percent, a rally…
The QE Dance Continues
It appears that the dance with QE will continue today. For anyone invested in stocks, this has been a beautiful dance to watch for several years now. It's a bit of a two-step and here's how it works. First, the markets fret over what appears to be economic weakness. This causes stocks to …
The New Battle Cry: Inflation or Bust!
As someone who entered the investing business in 1980, it is very odd to see the central bankers of the world now focused on trying to increase inflation. Back in the day, inflation was the enemy. An enemy Paul Volcker was locked in battle with for years as runaway inflation threatened th…
Hawkish Or Just Plain Pragmatic?
As expected, Janet Yellen's Fed announced yesterday that their QE bond-buying program was coming to an end. The move was widely telegraphed and could be viewed as a positive since the Fed no longer thinks the economy is weak enough to require the Fed's help.
To support the relativ…
Apparently There Is Nothing To Fear But...
The bulls put a bit of an exclamation point on what is turning out to be a real joyride to the upside higher yesterday as the S&P 500 once again rallied hard without the benefit of an obvious catalyst. The rally pushed the venerable index back above its 50-day moving average and to wi…
A Spooky, Must-See Chart For The Season
It is getting to be that time of year where writers feel compelled to somehow work the words spooky, scary, frightful etc., into their pieces. So, in keeping with tradition, it is time to step back from the blinking lights and the scary corrective phase the market has been in, and review …
The Focus Remains on Fed and Headlines
The early action on this fine Monday morning suggests that traders are still taking their cues from any/all headlines relating to Ebola. U.S. futures had been steady for much of the morning until a headline saying that a pediatric patient is evaluated crossed the wires. Almost instantly, …
A Case of The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly
To the casual observer, it was a good day on Wall Street yesterday. The Dow gained more than 215 points, the NASDAQ rallied +1.6 percent, and the Russell 2000 tacked on +1.8 percent. However, to those watching the action a bit more closely, Thursday was a case of the good, the bad, and th…