After becoming absurdly overbought, US equity markets finally produced an intelligent about-face on Friday, though there remain a large number of holdouts who believe that the current condition is something other than an abnormally-large bear market rally.
The major indices gave back most of Thursday's ridiculous gains but still finished the week very much on the positive side. There was little in the way of economic reports or company earnings filings, so investors were mostly on their own, playing the momentum trade, and the momentum had clearly run its course to the upside, as the NASDAQ ended in positive territory for the year on Thursday, but came back to earth on Friday and the Dow broke dangerously close to upside resistance at 8000 before backing well away today.
The week was the third straight that stocks had finished with gains, and, in case you're keeping score, was the 4th time this year that stocks ended a week higher, against 8 which closed on a negative note. For some perspective, the Dow is down exactly 1000 points for the year, while the NASDAQ is off only 34 and the S&P down 88, more in line with the Dow.
Obviously, the NASDAQ contains far fewer financial stocks and is overweighted with tech stocks and smaller corporations, so we may be about to witness the stock market equivalent of Revenge of the Nerds as new-age technology companies outperform older, more established (and with heavier debt burdens and legacy costs) companies on the Dow and NYSE. Speaking of the NYSE Composite, it has performed the on line with the Dow, down 660 points for the year.
Dow 7,776.18, -148.38 (1.87%)
NASDAQ 1,545.20, -41.80 (2.63%)
S&P 500 815.94, -16.92 (2.03%)
NYSE Composite 5,096.64, -133.89 (2.56%)
Internals were decidedly negative, with advancing issues being outnumbered by declining ones, 4896-1612, a 3-1 ratio. New lows continued to pour in ahead of new highs, though at a moderate pace, 110-25. That metric, despite the huge recent rally, has yet to roll over. When it does, it is likely to be short-lived, as stocks should return to some more normal range (between 6900 and 7500 on the Dow). After that, it's anybody's guess where they will go, though a retest of the low (Dow 6550) is more than likely in the offing, though the exact timing of that move is as yet unclear. It could be merely weeks away or many months. Consult your own crystal ball if you desire a more accurate reading.
Volume was down slightly from levels seen during the run-up, indicating that there are still stubborn types holding recent gains. Those should be eviscerated over the coming 5 weeks, as the next round of corporate earnings takes center stage.
NYSE Volume 1,443,266,000
NASDAQ Volume 2,102,247,000
Over in the commodity pits, life was equally downbeat as oil slipped another $1.98, to $52.38, a bit of a relief for drivers as gas prices have recently edged back above the $2 mark. Gold fell $16.90, to $925.30. Silver was down 36 cents to $13.26. The precious metals continue to languish in a trading range, with gold hanging between $880 and $990 and silver trading iroughly between $12 and $13.75. Investors seem to be torn between buying the assets as inflation hedges and selling them on upticks in price during a deflationary trend. Both have been right at different times.
Just after the market closed (one can only wonder in amazement at the timing of these things) the FDIC took over Georgia's Omni National Bank, and it's nearly $1 billion in assets - pocket change in today's environment.
The coming week should be highly entertaining and instructional. On Tuesday, the S&P/Case Shiller Home Price Index numbers and Consumer Confidence for March are released prior to the market's open. Wednesday offers a bonanza of economic reports, including the ADP employment report for March, Construction Spending and Pending Home Sales for February, Crude Inventories and March Auto and Truck Sales. If the market can absorb that, Friday comes the government's official figures for March Non-farm Payrolls.
Traders will likely be hard-pressed to hold onto recent gains. Enjoy some great college hoops this weekend and get ready for a wild ride next week.
Friday, March 27, 2009
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Unchecked Greed Reigns Free
If you thought the 2 1/2-week-long rally had run out of gas - like yours truly - you were proven wrong on Thursday. The Masters of the Universe were at their level best once again, goosing stock positions throughout the day, but particularly in the final hour (just like yesterday, and many days before), when stocks added mightily to their already solid gains.
The Dow jumped nearly 100 points in the last hour, while the NASDAQ, which outperformed all other indices by a huge margin, added 28 additional points as the session drew to a close. It is apparent to any outside observer that greed has trumped fear over the short term. The Dow Jones Industrials have now climbed 1377 points since March 9, a span of 13 sessions.
The economic news of the day was pretty much in line with expectations. Unemployment roles hit a new record high, with another 652,000 Americans adding their names to the roles of the jobless. Final GDP figures for the 4th quarter of 2008 came in at -6.3%, better than the -6.6% some had expected. A number of companies reported better-than-expected earnings, Best Buy and Texas Instruments among them, though investors were snatching up shares of just abut anything that had a price attached to it, in a mad scramble to jump on the equity bandwagon.
If ever there was a textbook case for an overbought bear market rally, this surely is it, and while there may be no perceptible end in sight, the 8000 level, at which there is substantial resistance, is already within shouting distance. It should be pointed out, however, that this market knows nothing of support and resistance, commonly disregarding any resistance on the way up. The path back down ought to be particularly brutal, now that 90% of the public is convinced the worst is behind us, since there are there have been numerous gap-ups at various opens, and, as any chartist well knows, gaps always get filled.
But that's a lesson for another day. For now, any hint of the financial crisis, liquidity squeeze, deflationary spiral or housing crunch has given way to chants of "go, baby, go."
Dow 7,924.56, +174.75 (2.25%)
NASDAQ 1,587.00, +58.05 (3.80%)
S&P 500 832.86, +18.98 (2.33%)
NYSE Composite 5,230.53, +103.53 (2.02%)
Market internals were as unsurprising as the headline numbers. Advancing issues outnumbered decliners, 5180-1675, though new lows continued ahead of new highs, 117-36, though the numbers are closing ranks. Volume was very high once more, especially on the NASDAQ, which recorded one of the highest volume days of the year.
NYSE Volume 1,792,579,000
NASDAQ Volume 2,594,485,000
Crude oil continued to rise, up $1.57, to $54.34. Gold gained $4.20, to $942.20, while silver tagged along with a gain of 18 cents, to $13.62.
Noting the gains in stocks, as well as most commodities, it seems that throwing trillions of dollars at the markets in all manner of bailout, breakout, cram-down and stimuli, seems to be working. The economy is reflating at an incredible rate, so much so that the Fed should consider raising interest rates off their absurdly low emergency levels. Of course, they won't, until the American landscape is littered with currency.
The precious metals now appear to be even better investments than ever. With all asset classes rising in price, rather than an orderly deflation which would have occurred naturally, we will now have even more mal-valued investments in equities especially, backed by a currency that is losing value faster than a prostitute sheds her chastity.
People's 401k's ought to look much better by the end of the month. The S&P 500 has gained nearly 25% in the past 2 1/2 weeks, though all that extra loot in one's pension is surely going to be eaten up by the ravishes of taxation and inflation. Welcome to the new normal. You earn, you pay, you remain under the thumb. Enjoy it while you can.
The Dow jumped nearly 100 points in the last hour, while the NASDAQ, which outperformed all other indices by a huge margin, added 28 additional points as the session drew to a close. It is apparent to any outside observer that greed has trumped fear over the short term. The Dow Jones Industrials have now climbed 1377 points since March 9, a span of 13 sessions.
The economic news of the day was pretty much in line with expectations. Unemployment roles hit a new record high, with another 652,000 Americans adding their names to the roles of the jobless. Final GDP figures for the 4th quarter of 2008 came in at -6.3%, better than the -6.6% some had expected. A number of companies reported better-than-expected earnings, Best Buy and Texas Instruments among them, though investors were snatching up shares of just abut anything that had a price attached to it, in a mad scramble to jump on the equity bandwagon.
If ever there was a textbook case for an overbought bear market rally, this surely is it, and while there may be no perceptible end in sight, the 8000 level, at which there is substantial resistance, is already within shouting distance. It should be pointed out, however, that this market knows nothing of support and resistance, commonly disregarding any resistance on the way up. The path back down ought to be particularly brutal, now that 90% of the public is convinced the worst is behind us, since there are there have been numerous gap-ups at various opens, and, as any chartist well knows, gaps always get filled.
But that's a lesson for another day. For now, any hint of the financial crisis, liquidity squeeze, deflationary spiral or housing crunch has given way to chants of "go, baby, go."
Dow 7,924.56, +174.75 (2.25%)
NASDAQ 1,587.00, +58.05 (3.80%)
S&P 500 832.86, +18.98 (2.33%)
NYSE Composite 5,230.53, +103.53 (2.02%)
Market internals were as unsurprising as the headline numbers. Advancing issues outnumbered decliners, 5180-1675, though new lows continued ahead of new highs, 117-36, though the numbers are closing ranks. Volume was very high once more, especially on the NASDAQ, which recorded one of the highest volume days of the year.
NYSE Volume 1,792,579,000
NASDAQ Volume 2,594,485,000
Crude oil continued to rise, up $1.57, to $54.34. Gold gained $4.20, to $942.20, while silver tagged along with a gain of 18 cents, to $13.62.
Noting the gains in stocks, as well as most commodities, it seems that throwing trillions of dollars at the markets in all manner of bailout, breakout, cram-down and stimuli, seems to be working. The economy is reflating at an incredible rate, so much so that the Fed should consider raising interest rates off their absurdly low emergency levels. Of course, they won't, until the American landscape is littered with currency.
The precious metals now appear to be even better investments than ever. With all asset classes rising in price, rather than an orderly deflation which would have occurred naturally, we will now have even more mal-valued investments in equities especially, backed by a currency that is losing value faster than a prostitute sheds her chastity.
People's 401k's ought to look much better by the end of the month. The S&P 500 has gained nearly 25% in the past 2 1/2 weeks, though all that extra loot in one's pension is surely going to be eaten up by the ravishes of taxation and inflation. Welcome to the new normal. You earn, you pay, you remain under the thumb. Enjoy it while you can.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Market Searches for Direction, Extends Gains
The major indices all finished the day on a positive note, but that was only half the story. Up by 2% (the Dow up 200 points) in early trading on unexpected gains in durable goods orders and new home sales.
But the real story was in the Treasury auction, which reportedly drew less demand than expected and induced the Federal Reserve to snatch up $7.5 billion in Treasuries maturing in the next seven to 10 years. That triggered a severe response on Wall Street, which commenced on a downward trajectory, with the Dow dropping from 7800 at 1:00 pm to the day's low at 7550 at 3:00 pm.
Concerned that the market would continue to sell-off and wipe out gains from Monday's historic 497-point rise, traders got busy in the final hour, boosting stocks back into positive territory. From 3:00 to 4:00 pm the Dow tacked on nearly 200 points, with some serious tape-painting in the final seven minutes, in which the Dow went from unchanged to the final close, up 89.84 points.
Dow 7,749.81, +89.84 (1.17%)
NASDAQ 1,528.95, +12.43 (0.82%)
S&P 500 813.88, +7.63 (0.95%)
NYSE Composite 5,127.00, +62.67 (1.24%)
The level of participation is particularly worrisome to the Treasury and the Obama administration, which is seeking to sell a record $94 billion in Treasuries this week. A similar auction in Great Britain received such poor participation that the auction was widely considered a failure. Nations worldwide need to finance large amounts of debt, but all are dwarfed by the quantity the US government plans to sell this year, roughly triple the amount auctioned in 2008.
Additionally, the figures for February new home sales (337,000) were tempered by lower prices and the fact that the number is still 41% below last year's already depressed levels. Ditto the durable goods report, which showed a gain of 3.9%, as more than half of the purchases were made by the Department of Defense. Thus, the markets were rather confused: at first euphoric, then sullen, and finally, covering short positions and reinforcing the bid in the final hour.
At the end of the day, only one thing was for sure: that the market is in serious need of new direction. An underlying element of fear is prevalent, even though stocks - from March 11 to March 24 - put on their best 10-day showing since 1938, according to Addison Wiggins at the dailyreckoning.com.
Advancing issues eventually held sway over decliners, 4417-2112. New lows beat out new highs once again, 123-30. Volume was spectacular, near the highest of this current three-week period.
NYSE Volume 1,773,648,000
NASDAQ Volume 2,494,052,000
Commodities were mixed. Crude oil futures for May delivery fell $1.21, to $52.77 on a report that US supplies were at 16-year highs. Gold gained $12.00, to $938.00. Silver added 8 cents to finish at $13.44.
With so much confusion, it seems difficult for stocks to continue their gains much longer. Today's initial thrust resulted in an evident topping pattern and the subsequent decline broke through various support levels before the manipulated rally nearing the close. Much of the late-day gains were led by JP Morgan Chase (JPM) and other financial stocks which have fueled the rally of late.
Prior to the opening bell tomorrow, traders will digest two important pieces of economic data, both releases scheduled for 8:30 am: initial unemployment claims and the final 4th quarter 2008 GDP, which is expected to be recorded as worse than previous estimates. The last GDP estimate was a decline of 6.5%. Tomorrow's number figures to be closer to 6.8%.
With that, my apologies for yesterday's truncated post, though the interface issues have now been resolved. Be on your toes early. This market could run either way, or, like today, cascade in both directions.
But the real story was in the Treasury auction, which reportedly drew less demand than expected and induced the Federal Reserve to snatch up $7.5 billion in Treasuries maturing in the next seven to 10 years. That triggered a severe response on Wall Street, which commenced on a downward trajectory, with the Dow dropping from 7800 at 1:00 pm to the day's low at 7550 at 3:00 pm.
Concerned that the market would continue to sell-off and wipe out gains from Monday's historic 497-point rise, traders got busy in the final hour, boosting stocks back into positive territory. From 3:00 to 4:00 pm the Dow tacked on nearly 200 points, with some serious tape-painting in the final seven minutes, in which the Dow went from unchanged to the final close, up 89.84 points.
Dow 7,749.81, +89.84 (1.17%)
NASDAQ 1,528.95, +12.43 (0.82%)
S&P 500 813.88, +7.63 (0.95%)
NYSE Composite 5,127.00, +62.67 (1.24%)
The level of participation is particularly worrisome to the Treasury and the Obama administration, which is seeking to sell a record $94 billion in Treasuries this week. A similar auction in Great Britain received such poor participation that the auction was widely considered a failure. Nations worldwide need to finance large amounts of debt, but all are dwarfed by the quantity the US government plans to sell this year, roughly triple the amount auctioned in 2008.
Additionally, the figures for February new home sales (337,000) were tempered by lower prices and the fact that the number is still 41% below last year's already depressed levels. Ditto the durable goods report, which showed a gain of 3.9%, as more than half of the purchases were made by the Department of Defense. Thus, the markets were rather confused: at first euphoric, then sullen, and finally, covering short positions and reinforcing the bid in the final hour.
At the end of the day, only one thing was for sure: that the market is in serious need of new direction. An underlying element of fear is prevalent, even though stocks - from March 11 to March 24 - put on their best 10-day showing since 1938, according to Addison Wiggins at the dailyreckoning.com.
Advancing issues eventually held sway over decliners, 4417-2112. New lows beat out new highs once again, 123-30. Volume was spectacular, near the highest of this current three-week period.
NYSE Volume 1,773,648,000
NASDAQ Volume 2,494,052,000
Commodities were mixed. Crude oil futures for May delivery fell $1.21, to $52.77 on a report that US supplies were at 16-year highs. Gold gained $12.00, to $938.00. Silver added 8 cents to finish at $13.44.
With so much confusion, it seems difficult for stocks to continue their gains much longer. Today's initial thrust resulted in an evident topping pattern and the subsequent decline broke through various support levels before the manipulated rally nearing the close. Much of the late-day gains were led by JP Morgan Chase (JPM) and other financial stocks which have fueled the rally of late.
Prior to the opening bell tomorrow, traders will digest two important pieces of economic data, both releases scheduled for 8:30 am: initial unemployment claims and the final 4th quarter 2008 GDP, which is expected to be recorded as worse than previous estimates. The last GDP estimate was a decline of 6.5%. Tomorrow's number figures to be closer to 6.8%.
With that, my apologies for yesterday's truncated post, though the interface issues have now been resolved. Be on your toes early. This market could run either way, or, like today, cascade in both directions.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Bears Aren't Finished Yet.. Neither Are Bulls
A fascinating day a trading, which began in the red, finished there, lending support to the idea that the market had become overbought in the near term. All of the major indices gave back, led by the broadest measures, the NASDAQ and NYSE Composite.
I am having trouble with the interface. I cannot format properly, so I am going to try to keep this brief.
Dow 7,660.37, -115.49 (1.49%)
Nasdaq 1,518.63, -37.14 (2.39%)
S&P 500 806.36, -16.56 (2.01%)
NYSE Composite 5,064.33, -121.53 (2.34%)
Nasdaq 1,518.63, -37.14 (2.39%)
S&P 500 806.36, -16.56 (2.01%)
NYSE Composite 5,064.33, -121.53 (2.34%)
Declining issues beat back advancers, 4466-2048. New lows continued their dominance over new highs, 122-30. Volume was lower than the past five to six sessions; not surprising considering the long run of gains over the past two weeks. While this rally may be essentially over for the time being, it could gain traction again at any time€.
NYSE Volume 1,645,186,000
Nasdaq Volume 2,033,304,000
Nasdaq Volume 2,033,304,000
Crude oil finished with a gain of 18 cents, at another high for the year of $53.98. Gold fell again, though it seems overdone, down $28.70, to $923.80. Silver slipped 50 cents, to $13.38.
There was little in the way of economic news, and all the indices finished near their session lows.
My apologies again for the brevity of today's post, but the interface has gone wacky. Hopefully, these matters will be cleared up before long and I'll be able to get back to more poignant posting.
Monday, March 23, 2009
Now THAT Was a Rally! Dow Up 497 Points
If there was any doubt that the biggest rallies occur during bear markets, today's stunning straight-up market move should certainly expunge those wayward thoughts.
The biggest problem (there are many) with this outsize Monday Melt-up is that it absolutely will not last. This was all about debasing the currency to pay off the criminals on Wall Street to keep the party going. If you were smart, you jumped in and grabbed your share of the loot. If you are dumb, like most investors, you sat back and watched. Maybe your 401k looks a little fatter today. Maybe you are thinking about investing a little more tomorrow, or next week, or next month. Maybe you've just given up and have doing the really smart thing and buying gold and silver, or just silver.
According to CNNMoney.com, whom I have no reason to doubt, today's gain on the Dow was the largest since November 21, 2008, meaning it was the best run of this year, and probably one of the top three or four days ever. Congratulations!
What CNNMoney is not reporting is that the November 21, 2008 move of 494.13 is that today's move was bigger (by 3 whole points) and certainly larger by percentage (the Dow was running between 7500 and 8000 then) and that November day followed two days in which the Dow dropped a cumulative 872 points. So, that was a snap-back rally (and a dumb one too), whereas today's was based on two specific news items: the administration's unveiling of their latest ploy to sop up bad bank assets - the Public Private Investment Partnership, or PPIP for short - and the number of existing home sales reported for February.
The new home sales showed a 5.1% increase over January sales, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), but noted that the figure (4.72 million units) is still 4.6% below February last year and that the median value of homes sold was 15.5% lower than last year. One actual bright sign was in California, of all places, where the median home price actually rose for the first time in three years.
As for the PPIP, I bow to Nobel Economist Paul Krugman, who sort of peed all over Geithner's plan in the New York Times Saturday morning, saying:
OUCH! I agree. Once one looks inside the details of the "partnership" one can only conclude that lending taxpayer money to investors (some of whom will probably be the original investors or toxic asset holders themselves) to buy up bad debt is not a productive idea. In fact, it's just a continuance of the same things that got us into this mess to begin with: paying too much for things nobody wants or understands.
The administration's answer to the banking crisis has always been short on substance and this is no different. It's a lot of smoke and mirrors, and won't do anything substantive to alleviate the financial conditions which prevail: high unemployment, lack of confidence, slack demand, deflation. It's just more taxpayer money down a rat hole, with Bank of America, JP Morgan Chase, Citigroup and AIG at the bottom, glomming up all the free money they can.
Somebody asked me today why the Dow was up almost 500 points. My answer was the same one I have been using for just about every huge market move: "If somebody hands you a trillion dollars, you're probably going to have a party. Wall Street partied today like it was 1999, or 2003, 2005, 2006. The greedy bastards just can't get enough, and, even then, with the most accommodative policies ever in which to operate, they lose their shirts, our shirts and the shirts, shorts and pants of the next three generations. Screw them. Jump in and out of this stupid market, which is telegraphing moves like a punch drunk boxer on wobbly legs, and take some of the money yourself.
Making today's huge gains look somewhat more absurd, the World Trade Organization (WTO) reported - around 3:00 pm - that global trade would decline by 9% in 2009. That's just fine, as Wall Street was too busy to notice, as they tacked on the last 125 points leading up to the historic close.
Dow 7,775.86, +497.48 (6.84%)
NASDAQ 1,555.77, +98.50 (6.76%)
S&P 500 822.92, +54.38 (7.08%)
NYSE Composite 5,185.86, +353.73 (7.32%)
Market internals were strong, with advances favored over declines, 5747-896, a ratio of more than 8-1. There were gains in the number of new highs reported today, but they still did not eclipse the new lows, which remained higher, 102-26. Volume was as good as any day of the past two weeks, still on the high side.
NYSE Volume 1,916,566,000
NASDAQ Volume 2,255,664,000
With Wall Street going bonkers, commodity traders were less impressed. Crude oil gained $1.73, to $53.80. another new high for the year. Gold lost $3.70, to $952.50, but silver tacked on 4 cents, to close in New York at $13.88.
The Dow is now up 1230 points in just two weeks, a nearly 19% gain. With little - if any - resistance up to 8000, odds are good that this rally will have legs, though taking economic news seriously, something Wall Street seldom does, could produce different outcomes.
In any case, that was one hall of a rally.
The biggest problem (there are many) with this outsize Monday Melt-up is that it absolutely will not last. This was all about debasing the currency to pay off the criminals on Wall Street to keep the party going. If you were smart, you jumped in and grabbed your share of the loot. If you are dumb, like most investors, you sat back and watched. Maybe your 401k looks a little fatter today. Maybe you are thinking about investing a little more tomorrow, or next week, or next month. Maybe you've just given up and have doing the really smart thing and buying gold and silver, or just silver.
According to CNNMoney.com, whom I have no reason to doubt, today's gain on the Dow was the largest since November 21, 2008, meaning it was the best run of this year, and probably one of the top three or four days ever. Congratulations!
What CNNMoney is not reporting is that the November 21, 2008 move of 494.13 is that today's move was bigger (by 3 whole points) and certainly larger by percentage (the Dow was running between 7500 and 8000 then) and that November day followed two days in which the Dow dropped a cumulative 872 points. So, that was a snap-back rally (and a dumb one too), whereas today's was based on two specific news items: the administration's unveiling of their latest ploy to sop up bad bank assets - the Public Private Investment Partnership, or PPIP for short - and the number of existing home sales reported for February.
The new home sales showed a 5.1% increase over January sales, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), but noted that the figure (4.72 million units) is still 4.6% below February last year and that the median value of homes sold was 15.5% lower than last year. One actual bright sign was in California, of all places, where the median home price actually rose for the first time in three years.
As for the PPIP, I bow to Nobel Economist Paul Krugman, who sort of peed all over Geithner's plan in the New York Times Saturday morning, saying:
This plan will produce big gains for banks that didn’t actually need any help; it will, however, do little to reassure the public about banks that are seriously undercapitalized.
OUCH! I agree. Once one looks inside the details of the "partnership" one can only conclude that lending taxpayer money to investors (some of whom will probably be the original investors or toxic asset holders themselves) to buy up bad debt is not a productive idea. In fact, it's just a continuance of the same things that got us into this mess to begin with: paying too much for things nobody wants or understands.
The administration's answer to the banking crisis has always been short on substance and this is no different. It's a lot of smoke and mirrors, and won't do anything substantive to alleviate the financial conditions which prevail: high unemployment, lack of confidence, slack demand, deflation. It's just more taxpayer money down a rat hole, with Bank of America, JP Morgan Chase, Citigroup and AIG at the bottom, glomming up all the free money they can.
Somebody asked me today why the Dow was up almost 500 points. My answer was the same one I have been using for just about every huge market move: "If somebody hands you a trillion dollars, you're probably going to have a party. Wall Street partied today like it was 1999, or 2003, 2005, 2006. The greedy bastards just can't get enough, and, even then, with the most accommodative policies ever in which to operate, they lose their shirts, our shirts and the shirts, shorts and pants of the next three generations. Screw them. Jump in and out of this stupid market, which is telegraphing moves like a punch drunk boxer on wobbly legs, and take some of the money yourself.
Making today's huge gains look somewhat more absurd, the World Trade Organization (WTO) reported - around 3:00 pm - that global trade would decline by 9% in 2009. That's just fine, as Wall Street was too busy to notice, as they tacked on the last 125 points leading up to the historic close.
Dow 7,775.86, +497.48 (6.84%)
NASDAQ 1,555.77, +98.50 (6.76%)
S&P 500 822.92, +54.38 (7.08%)
NYSE Composite 5,185.86, +353.73 (7.32%)
Market internals were strong, with advances favored over declines, 5747-896, a ratio of more than 8-1. There were gains in the number of new highs reported today, but they still did not eclipse the new lows, which remained higher, 102-26. Volume was as good as any day of the past two weeks, still on the high side.
NYSE Volume 1,916,566,000
NASDAQ Volume 2,255,664,000
With Wall Street going bonkers, commodity traders were less impressed. Crude oil gained $1.73, to $53.80. another new high for the year. Gold lost $3.70, to $952.50, but silver tacked on 4 cents, to close in New York at $13.88.
The Dow is now up 1230 points in just two weeks, a nearly 19% gain. With little - if any - resistance up to 8000, odds are good that this rally will have legs, though taking economic news seriously, something Wall Street seldom does, could produce different outcomes.
In any case, that was one hall of a rally.
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