State of the Markets
Do Technical Levels Even Matter Right Now?
After the relatively wild action seen late last week, the question of the day is if the swings we saw on Thursday and Friday are meaningful - or - simply the work of the trend-following bots doing their thing.
Recall that on Thursday, the S&P 500 fell 23.45 points or -1.2 perc…
Headline Headache!
Most investors know that today's stock market can move quickly when headlines hit the wires. And most investors are aware that the reason for the oftentimes sudden and swift movements are the headline-reading algorithms that are pre-programmed to respond to certain words within those head…
Indicators Suggest A Pullback Might Be Near, But...
One of Dave M's partners at newly formed Numetrix Capital (a research firm focused on multi-manager and multi-strategy portfolio diversification), Paul Schatz, is filling in for Dave this morning. Here are Paul's latest thoughts on the "state of the markets."
Good morning. The Dow…
Which Matters More: Yellen or Earnings/Econ Data?
The big event of Tuesday was Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen's semi-annual testimony on monetary policy before the Senate Banking Committee. No one really expected Ms. Yellen to break any new ground with her prepared testimony. So the key for traders was to listen to the tone of t…
Can Earnings Season Carry the Bulls to Higher Ground?
After more than a week of very little in the way of news to work with, traders are being bombarded with inputs this morning.
In Europe, the all-important ZEW economic surveys showed that the outlook for the economies of Germany and the Eurozone con…
Hopes for ECB Action Has Improved the Mood
Although the troubles with Portugal's Banco Espirito Santo were in focus late last week, the concerns appear to be fading fast. This morning global markets are rallying on hopes that ECB President Draghi will announce a 700 billion euro TLTRO program when …
Has the European Debt Crisis Returned?
Anyone coming into Thursday morning looking for a sleepy summer session was in for a rude awakening as S&P futures were down hard three hours before the opening bell. For example, as my 6 screens flickered on at 5:15 am Thursday, I began perusing my news feeds. Then I saw the futures …
They're Baaaaack! (Worries About European Banks, That Is)
It's been a while, but worries about the state of Europe's banking industry are back in a big way this morning. Specifically, concerns about the health of Portugal's largest listed bank are causing a rout of 1% or more across Europe. Banco Espirito Santo, …
Has The Momentum Meltdown Resumed?
To be honest, the plan was to present an in-depth review of the outlook for inflation today. To be sure, nothing can kill a bull market faster than an uptick in inflation. And with the May data showing that there just might be some inflation percolating at the present time, it seemed a go…