Believe it or not, we're 3/4 through the year and with that Wall Street staged a rally Friday just to keep with the notion that the economy is at least strong enough (and well enough supported by the Federal Reserve) to warrant the buying of stocks with which to dress up tha many portfolios managed by multi-billion dollar funds.
Friday's economic data included numbers on personal income (up 0.2%), personal spending (flat... oops), core PCE prices (up 0.2%), Chicago PMI (54.2, ahead of forecasts) and the University of Michigan survey on consumer sentiment (91.2).
All right, then, everybody's content, including the Fed, which did not raise rates and won't until Decemebr at the earliest, if at all.
In this sweet spot economy, it's a numbers game and a day-trader's paradise. There's really no serious investment going on, just reshuffling of the deck of S&P 500 stocks to own.
The week was essentially flat, marginally to the upside, as the major averages just bounced between winning and losing all week long.
As Country Joe and the Fish might have said, "Whoopie! We're all gonna die."
Friday's Flash:
Dow Jones Industrial Average
18,308.15, +164.70 (0.91%)
NASDAQ
5,312.00, +42.85 (0.81%)
S&P 500
2,168.27, +17.14 (0.80%)
NYSE Composite
10,721.74, +78.22 (0.73%)
For the Week ended September 30:
Dow: +46.70 (+0.26%)
NASDAQ: +6.25 (+0.12%)
S&P 500: +3.58 (+0.17%)
NYSE Composite: +3.75 (+0.03%)
Showing posts with label University of Michigan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label University of Michigan. Show all posts
Sunday, October 2, 2016
Wednesday, August 21, 2013
Dow Down 6th Straight Session; Bummer for 5% of Population
Consider this salient factoid (and question its validity): Five percent of the US population owns 82% of all common stock.
So, with that in mind, who - besides the employees of the major corporate entities in this country (a big number) - cares?
It might be worth suggesting that a 5-10-15-20% pullback in stocks would be a healthy development, bringing down the elite to more moderate levels.
This is sophistry, of course. A diminution in the relative income or net worth of the wealthiest amongst us would surely trickle down to those not quite rich, the middle class and eventually the bottom income levels.
Yes. Those nearest the gutter would be dragged down into it and die. Others would take their places. Those in the middle would become less fortunate (say goodbye to paying U of Michigan $52,000 a year for tuition, room and board). Those in the upper tiers would eat strip steaks instead of filet mignon and the top five percent would drive their Mercedes or Lexus or Maserati a little less often.
This is all very relative; the deciding factors being, most prominently, not how much you're worth or how much you make, but what you can be productive with, what your knowledge and skills are and how much you spend.
Wall Street is a very cockeyed place, full of people who think they know better how to manage other people's money than those people themselves. For an alternative perspective, go to a farm, where a person's value is derived from utility, rather than fantasy.
Dow 14,897.55, -105.44 (0.70%)
NASDAQ 3,599.79, -13.80 (0.38%)
S&P 500 1,642.80, -9.55 (0.58%)
NYSE Composite 9,339.37, -82.19 (0.87%)
NASDAQ Volume 1,401,692,625
NYSE Volume 3,306,747,750
Combined NYSE & NASDAQ Advance - Decline: 1871-4677
Combined NYSE & NASDAQ New highs - New lows: 83-178
WTI crude oil: 103.85, -1.26
Gold: 1,370.10, -2.50
Silver: 22.96, -0.108
So, with that in mind, who - besides the employees of the major corporate entities in this country (a big number) - cares?
It might be worth suggesting that a 5-10-15-20% pullback in stocks would be a healthy development, bringing down the elite to more moderate levels.
This is sophistry, of course. A diminution in the relative income or net worth of the wealthiest amongst us would surely trickle down to those not quite rich, the middle class and eventually the bottom income levels.
Yes. Those nearest the gutter would be dragged down into it and die. Others would take their places. Those in the middle would become less fortunate (say goodbye to paying U of Michigan $52,000 a year for tuition, room and board). Those in the upper tiers would eat strip steaks instead of filet mignon and the top five percent would drive their Mercedes or Lexus or Maserati a little less often.
This is all very relative; the deciding factors being, most prominently, not how much you're worth or how much you make, but what you can be productive with, what your knowledge and skills are and how much you spend.
Wall Street is a very cockeyed place, full of people who think they know better how to manage other people's money than those people themselves. For an alternative perspective, go to a farm, where a person's value is derived from utility, rather than fantasy.
Dow 14,897.55, -105.44 (0.70%)
NASDAQ 3,599.79, -13.80 (0.38%)
S&P 500 1,642.80, -9.55 (0.58%)
NYSE Composite 9,339.37, -82.19 (0.87%)
NASDAQ Volume 1,401,692,625
NYSE Volume 3,306,747,750
Combined NYSE & NASDAQ Advance - Decline: 1871-4677
Combined NYSE & NASDAQ New highs - New lows: 83-178
WTI crude oil: 103.85, -1.26
Gold: 1,370.10, -2.50
Silver: 22.96, -0.108
Friday, May 17, 2013
Stocks End Week on Super-Duper High Note as All Indicators Are Ignored
Other than options expiry, there was no good reason for stocks to go higher today, though this market doesn't need any reasons or rationale for any kind of movement. So, it was not surprising that, on a day in which the only relevant data came from the University of Michigan consumer sentiment and the Conference Board's Index of Leading Economic Indicators - incidentally, the only two data points that were positive this week - that stocks would rise to new all-time highs on the Dow and S&P, while the NASDAQ continued its recent string of 12 1/2-year-highs.
Consumer sentiment catapulted from April's 76.4 to 83.7 in May, while the LEI came in with a gain for April of 0.6% on expectations of 0.3, after March's disappointing -0.2%, not that the prior reading mattered at all.
Stocks are raging, and to those who have invested and made money, congratulations. For those who have stayed on the sidelines, this is surely not an opportune time to invest, despite what all the financial pundits are saying, unless one believes it is wise to buy at all-time highs.
So ends another week in fantasy-land, aka, Wall Street.
Gold and silver were again taken out back and punished severely, but - big surprise - crude oil continued to march toward the $100/barrel level.
Happy motoring!
Dow 15,354.40, +121.18 (0.80%)
NASDAQ 3,498.97, +33.72 (0.97%)
S&P 500 1,667.47, +17.00 (1.03%)
NYSE Composite 9,576.41, +87.10 (0.92%)
NASDAQ Volume 1,820,408,750
NYSE Volume 3,736,158,250
Combined NYSE & NASDAQ Advance - Decline: 4518-1925
Combined NYSE & NASDAQ New highs - New lows: 703-45
WTI crude oil: 96.02, +0.86
Gold: 1,364.70, -22.20
Silver: 22.35, +0.307
Consumer sentiment catapulted from April's 76.4 to 83.7 in May, while the LEI came in with a gain for April of 0.6% on expectations of 0.3, after March's disappointing -0.2%, not that the prior reading mattered at all.
Stocks are raging, and to those who have invested and made money, congratulations. For those who have stayed on the sidelines, this is surely not an opportune time to invest, despite what all the financial pundits are saying, unless one believes it is wise to buy at all-time highs.
So ends another week in fantasy-land, aka, Wall Street.
Gold and silver were again taken out back and punished severely, but - big surprise - crude oil continued to march toward the $100/barrel level.
Happy motoring!
Dow 15,354.40, +121.18 (0.80%)
NASDAQ 3,498.97, +33.72 (0.97%)
S&P 500 1,667.47, +17.00 (1.03%)
NYSE Composite 9,576.41, +87.10 (0.92%)
NASDAQ Volume 1,820,408,750
NYSE Volume 3,736,158,250
Combined NYSE & NASDAQ Advance - Decline: 4518-1925
Combined NYSE & NASDAQ New highs - New lows: 703-45
WTI crude oil: 96.02, +0.86
Gold: 1,364.70, -22.20
Silver: 22.35, +0.307
Friday, August 12, 2011
Stocks Close Green, but Well Off Highs of Day, Down for Week
One of the wildest weeks in US stock market history came to a rather anti-climactic close on Friday, with modest gains on all of the major indices, though the close was well off the highs of the session.
The Dow was the biggest winner of the day in percentage terms, suggesting that money is being plowed into the global behemoths for their international reach and dividend yields, but the week-ending rally was well short of spectacular and the Dow ended the day close to the middle of the range after it had been up 203 points at the high.
The S&P 500 had been as high as 1189 before losing more than half its gains through the afternoon. So too, the NASDAQ, which was up as much as 32 points before surrendering much of those gains as the day wore on.
For the week, all the major averages were lower. The Dow gave up 175 points over the roller coaster week; the NASDAQ lost 25 points, or about one percent, and the S&P shed 20 points, closer to 2%.
It was the third straight week of losses for the major averages, though hardly as bad as it could have been, measured by the lows set in place on Wednesday. The troubling characteristics of the week's trading were extreme volatility, high volume and the uncanny ability - in the near future - for indices to retest lows before making decisive moves.
With Europe still unresolved and US problems probably put away for a while with the start of preseason football, Friday turned out to be a day of celebration, not for the gains of the session, but for the fact that markets did not continue to slide as the week wore on and out.
Another troubling aspect was the 10:00 am reading from the University of Michigan's survey of consumer sentiment, which plunged to an 31-year low of 54.9, after a reading of 63.7 in July.
On the other hand, retail sales posted positive gains for July according to the Department of Commerce, though their readings and estimates have proven in the past to be more hot air than fact.
Not to hose down anyone's equity parade, but the global economy is still rather shaky, and unless long-term, structural problems with debt and the global currencies themselves are addressed, we are sure to repeat this kind of market behavior and sluggish economic growth. As it is, it's been nearly three years since the collapse of Lehman Brothers and the world is hardly a better place. Investments have become short term holdings, while real money has gravitated to bonds, gold or hard assets.
Dow 11,269.02, +125.71 (1.13%)
NASDAQ 2,507.98, +15.30 (0.61%)
S&P 500 1,178.81, +6.17 (0.53%)
NYSE Composite 7,303.88, +46.30 (0.64%)
Advancing issues topped decliners, though the margin was slight, 3965-2678. New highs on the NASDAQ numbered just four (4), with 60 new lows. On the NYSE, there were only seven (7) new highs and 24 new lows. The combined total of 11 new highs and 84 new lows - low numbers on both sides - suggests exactly what the market shows, that we are in a mid-range between a rally and collapse, with a bias to the negative.
Volume dropped off substantially, as traders were worn out and some caution and reason was applied to today's trading.
NASDAQ Volume 2,222,537,500
NYSE Volume 5,581,791,000
Commodities were sluggish. Oil fell 34 cents, to $85.38. Gold dipped $8.90, ending the week at $1,742.60, while silver speculators snapped back at onerous margin requirements, gaining 45 cents, to $39.11.
At the end, it was a smooth finish, but hardly inspiring to the bulls. After all, this is a three-week skid and the major markets are still bound between correction (-10%) and a bear market (-20%). It will likely take more than a few good days of trading to come to some understanding of future direction.
The Dow was the biggest winner of the day in percentage terms, suggesting that money is being plowed into the global behemoths for their international reach and dividend yields, but the week-ending rally was well short of spectacular and the Dow ended the day close to the middle of the range after it had been up 203 points at the high.
The S&P 500 had been as high as 1189 before losing more than half its gains through the afternoon. So too, the NASDAQ, which was up as much as 32 points before surrendering much of those gains as the day wore on.
For the week, all the major averages were lower. The Dow gave up 175 points over the roller coaster week; the NASDAQ lost 25 points, or about one percent, and the S&P shed 20 points, closer to 2%.
It was the third straight week of losses for the major averages, though hardly as bad as it could have been, measured by the lows set in place on Wednesday. The troubling characteristics of the week's trading were extreme volatility, high volume and the uncanny ability - in the near future - for indices to retest lows before making decisive moves.
With Europe still unresolved and US problems probably put away for a while with the start of preseason football, Friday turned out to be a day of celebration, not for the gains of the session, but for the fact that markets did not continue to slide as the week wore on and out.
Another troubling aspect was the 10:00 am reading from the University of Michigan's survey of consumer sentiment, which plunged to an 31-year low of 54.9, after a reading of 63.7 in July.
On the other hand, retail sales posted positive gains for July according to the Department of Commerce, though their readings and estimates have proven in the past to be more hot air than fact.
Not to hose down anyone's equity parade, but the global economy is still rather shaky, and unless long-term, structural problems with debt and the global currencies themselves are addressed, we are sure to repeat this kind of market behavior and sluggish economic growth. As it is, it's been nearly three years since the collapse of Lehman Brothers and the world is hardly a better place. Investments have become short term holdings, while real money has gravitated to bonds, gold or hard assets.
Dow 11,269.02, +125.71 (1.13%)
NASDAQ 2,507.98, +15.30 (0.61%)
S&P 500 1,178.81, +6.17 (0.53%)
NYSE Composite 7,303.88, +46.30 (0.64%)
Advancing issues topped decliners, though the margin was slight, 3965-2678. New highs on the NASDAQ numbered just four (4), with 60 new lows. On the NYSE, there were only seven (7) new highs and 24 new lows. The combined total of 11 new highs and 84 new lows - low numbers on both sides - suggests exactly what the market shows, that we are in a mid-range between a rally and collapse, with a bias to the negative.
Volume dropped off substantially, as traders were worn out and some caution and reason was applied to today's trading.
NASDAQ Volume 2,222,537,500
NYSE Volume 5,581,791,000
Commodities were sluggish. Oil fell 34 cents, to $85.38. Gold dipped $8.90, ending the week at $1,742.60, while silver speculators snapped back at onerous margin requirements, gaining 45 cents, to $39.11.
At the end, it was a smooth finish, but hardly inspiring to the bulls. After all, this is a three-week skid and the major markets are still bound between correction (-10%) and a bear market (-20%). It will likely take more than a few good days of trading to come to some understanding of future direction.
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