Today's action is precisely what was referenced in yesterday's post.
There's absolutely no telling where or when the market (forget individual stocks, that's another story) is going to move. At the close yesterday was a vast selloff, normally indicating trouble ahead, but, if you sold at the close yesterday, you were shut out this morning unless you wanted back in at a much higher price because the market gapped up tremendously at the open and stayed right up there for the remainder of the session, closing just about where it opened.
This kind of activity may be meaningless to the casual investor, but it's death to day-traders, options players and short-term speculators unless you're on the inside and know the game plan. It's all pre-arranged, pre-planned and if you're not on the short list, you're, well... screwed. Royally. On. A. Big. Stick.
Just look at what happened to JC Penny yesterday. Entering the close of trading, word goes out that CIT has cut their lines of credit and the stock gets hit for about 10% in just a five-minute span, right before the close.
Word has it that Goldman Sachs (yeah, those guys) had recently arranged financing for the troubled retail chain, to the tune of about $2.25 billion, with JCP putting up its real estate - which is extensive - as collateral. So, when word comes that CIT has pulled their lines of credit, hastening the path to bankruptcy court, one can assume that the great Lloyd Blankfein and the criminal John Thain (CEO of CIT, formerly of BOfA's Merrill Lynch and before that, head of the NY stock exchange) must have had lunch at some point over the past few months and arranged the untidy undoing of JC Penny.
Today, via the same source, the NY Post, comes word that the CIT story was a complete fabrication and that JC Penny is still receiving shipments and has ample cash on hand.
Either way this plays out, true story or not, per CIT, somebody lost a lot of money yesterday, and, somebody made a bunch today as the stock recovered most of the losses.
Best guess is that Thain and Blankfein and their firms (or their off-shore accounts) were the main beneficiaries of this bit of dis-or-mis-information. How anybody can trade in this environment is a question for the ages or sages. It's a sick-o world out there in the land of high-finance.
Tomorrow's non-farm payroll report comes out at 8:30 am EDT, prior to the opening bell. As we used to say in high school, BFD. Look it up.
Dow 15,628.02, +128.48 (0.83%)
NASDAQ 3,675.74, +49.37 (1.36%)
S&P 500 1,706.87, +21.14 (1.25%)
NYSE Composite 9,673.39, +114.56 (1.20%)
NASDAQ Volume 1,835,171,500
NYSE Volume 4,175,730,750
Combined NYSE & NASDAQ Advance - Decline: 4375-2251
Combined NYSE & NASDAQ New highs - New lows: 698-89
WTI crude oil: 107.89, +2.86
Gold: 1,311.20, -1.80
Silver: 19.62, -0.004
Thursday, August 1, 2013
Wednesday, July 31, 2013
Stocks Get Sent on Wild Ride by ADP, FOMC
The Wall Street Casino is a dangerous place to play with money. One would have at least as good a chance f
"winning" at any of the establishments lining the Las Vegas Strip. At least there, high rollers play by the same rules, with the same odds. It's not that way at all on Wall Street, where the chances of stocks, bonds or entire indices are likely predetermined and those deemed "too big to fail" win all the time, mostly at the expense of other players.
Today's excursion into madness began with the release of ADP employment data for July, which showed a gain of 200,000 jobs in the month. Stocks started slowly, but by 10:30 am EDT - just an hour into the trading day - the Dow Jones Industrials were up by 114 points, and that was the high of the day.
With the Fed's FOMC announcement looming at 2:00 pm EDT, the slide back close to unchanged was obvious, the Dow slipping into the red shortly after the Fed announced it was doing nothing, for now, giving no indication of whether it intends to roll back its $85 billion in monthly bond purchases, which many analysts were predicting would begin in September.
The Dow zoomed back up to nearly an 80-point gain by 3:00 pm EDT, but then the selling resumed, taking into negative ground again just prior to the close. The S&P closed fractionally lower, though the NYSE Composite and NASDAQ ended the day in positive territory.
This summer's stock market is about as normal and predictable as a 14-year-old. There's no telling what may happen next, as good news is interpreted as good sometimes and bad others, and vice versa with bad news.
What's certain is that fundamentals don't matter at all and that's a dangerous place to invest, if that's what one wants to call it. Money is safer in one's pocket or lent to a neighbor or friend, even if they are poor risks. On a daily basis, the rug gets pulled out at some point, for some traders.
Best bet is to make sure you're not standing on it.
Dow 15,499.54, -21.05 (0.14%)
NASDAQ 3,626.37, +9.90 (0.27%)
S&P 500 1,685.73, -0.23 (0.01%)
NYSE Composite 9,558.81, +2.64 (0.03%)
NASDAQ Volume 1,870,515,500
NYSE Volume 4,183,349,250
Combined NYSE & NASDAQ Advance - Decline: 3425-3078
Combined NYSE & NASDAQ New highs - New lows: 389-92
WTI crude oil: 105.03, +1.95
Gold: 1,312.40, -11.60
Silver: 19.63, -0.052
"winning" at any of the establishments lining the Las Vegas Strip. At least there, high rollers play by the same rules, with the same odds. It's not that way at all on Wall Street, where the chances of stocks, bonds or entire indices are likely predetermined and those deemed "too big to fail" win all the time, mostly at the expense of other players.
Today's excursion into madness began with the release of ADP employment data for July, which showed a gain of 200,000 jobs in the month. Stocks started slowly, but by 10:30 am EDT - just an hour into the trading day - the Dow Jones Industrials were up by 114 points, and that was the high of the day.
With the Fed's FOMC announcement looming at 2:00 pm EDT, the slide back close to unchanged was obvious, the Dow slipping into the red shortly after the Fed announced it was doing nothing, for now, giving no indication of whether it intends to roll back its $85 billion in monthly bond purchases, which many analysts were predicting would begin in September.
The Dow zoomed back up to nearly an 80-point gain by 3:00 pm EDT, but then the selling resumed, taking into negative ground again just prior to the close. The S&P closed fractionally lower, though the NYSE Composite and NASDAQ ended the day in positive territory.
This summer's stock market is about as normal and predictable as a 14-year-old. There's no telling what may happen next, as good news is interpreted as good sometimes and bad others, and vice versa with bad news.
What's certain is that fundamentals don't matter at all and that's a dangerous place to invest, if that's what one wants to call it. Money is safer in one's pocket or lent to a neighbor or friend, even if they are poor risks. On a daily basis, the rug gets pulled out at some point, for some traders.
Best bet is to make sure you're not standing on it.
Dow 15,499.54, -21.05 (0.14%)
NASDAQ 3,626.37, +9.90 (0.27%)
S&P 500 1,685.73, -0.23 (0.01%)
NYSE Composite 9,558.81, +2.64 (0.03%)
NASDAQ Volume 1,870,515,500
NYSE Volume 4,183,349,250
Combined NYSE & NASDAQ Advance - Decline: 3425-3078
Combined NYSE & NASDAQ New highs - New lows: 389-92
WTI crude oil: 105.03, +1.95
Gold: 1,312.40, -11.60
Silver: 19.63, -0.052
Tuesday, July 30, 2013
Dog Days Prompt Little Action in Stocks
Seriously, nothing of any importance occurred on either Monday or Tuesday of this week.
Remain Calm. Tomorrow the FOMC will dominate the financial landscape, but there is likely to be little of value in their statement. Rates will remain unchanged and there will be little change to their language.
Everything is geared toward September, when the president and supine congress attempt to reach compromise on extending the debt ceiling. It will be lots of show, no glory and a possible disaster, but, everybody in America has so little faith in our elected officials, what they do will be of importance only to those who care.
Back tomorrow.
Dow 15,520.59, -1.38 (0.01%)
NASDAQ 3,616.47, +17.33 (0.48%)
S&P 500 1,685.96, +0.63 (0.04%)
NYSE Composite 9,556.17, -15.62 (0.16%)
NASDAQ Volume 1,736,761,125
NYSE Volume 3,552,778,500
Combined NYSE & NASDAQ Advance - Decline: 3262-3235
Combined NYSE & NASDAQ New highs - New lows: 252-57
WTI crude oil: 103.08, -1.47
Gold: 1,324.00, -4.40
Silver: 19.68, -0.184
Remain Calm. Tomorrow the FOMC will dominate the financial landscape, but there is likely to be little of value in their statement. Rates will remain unchanged and there will be little change to their language.
Everything is geared toward September, when the president and supine congress attempt to reach compromise on extending the debt ceiling. It will be lots of show, no glory and a possible disaster, but, everybody in America has so little faith in our elected officials, what they do will be of importance only to those who care.
Back tomorrow.
Dow 15,520.59, -1.38 (0.01%)
NASDAQ 3,616.47, +17.33 (0.48%)
S&P 500 1,685.96, +0.63 (0.04%)
NYSE Composite 9,556.17, -15.62 (0.16%)
NASDAQ Volume 1,736,761,125
NYSE Volume 3,552,778,500
Combined NYSE & NASDAQ Advance - Decline: 3262-3235
Combined NYSE & NASDAQ New highs - New lows: 252-57
WTI crude oil: 103.08, -1.47
Gold: 1,324.00, -4.40
Silver: 19.68, -0.184
Friday, July 26, 2013
Fun and Games Friday: Markets Erase Steep Losses, End with Gains
What passes for equity markets in America since 2008 are nothing like the vibrant, progressive institutions prevalent through the halcyon days of the 1990s and prior. Today's casinos are run by big banks and their trick algos, destroying any kind of price discovery in their quest for never-ending profits on the backs of weak companies and even sillier analysts.
Take Amazon (AMZN), for instance. On a day after reporting a loss when they were expected to show a gain for the quarter, along with missing on the revenue side and issuing skeptical guidance, the stock erased early losses and ended the day with a tidy gain. So much for fundamental analysis, price-earnings and other metrics which used to be the norm in real, functioning markets.
Today's casino has no correlation trades except those blessed by upturned-nose analysts from top firms who piece together whatever data they can cherry-pick to make their cases. It's really turned into a situation where it's every man, woman and snooty banker for him/herself.
So it was that the Dow erased all of a 140-point loss incurred in the morning (with all but Merck in negative territory) to finish the day with a modest gain. The NASDAQ was even more extreme, whipping down 20 points in the morning only to gain it all back and turn positive shortly before 2:00 pm EDT and post a 0.22% uptick. There was, as is the usual case, no shaking news or market-moving event, other than that one of the biggest thieves on the planet, Steve Cohen and his firm, SAC Capital, have come under the probing eye of the SEC. Cohen will likely settle before he is even charged and the firm will be liquidated, the money going into the coffers of the federal government, which, of course, needs the money since tax revenues are down severely and the budget process is an absolute mess.
Nothing new on Wall Street this Friday. Just more of the rampant theft and manipulation that has become the trademark of our corrupt, greed-infested markets. That and the reliance of Ben Bernanke's Fed putting a floor under the market is about all one can trust these days.
Good grief. If I hear Maria Bartiromo say, "it looks like it wants to go positive," one more time, there may soon be a busted flat screen left out on my front lawn for the trash man. Today's move was a bad joke. Just look at the A-D line.
Enjoy your weekend in the Hamptons, you rich crooked bums, and don't forget to BTFD.
For the rest of you, more silver, gold, tools, machinery and farm land.
Dow 15,558.83, +3.22 (0.02%)
NASDAQ 3,613.16, +7.98 (0.22%)
S&P 500 1,691.65, +1.40 (0.08%)
NYSE Composite 9,620.42, -14.64 (0.15%)
NASDAQ Volume 1,666,886,250
NYSE Volume 2,991,769,500
Combined NYSE & NASDAQ Advance - Decline: 2758-3710
Combined NYSE & NASDAQ New highs - New lows: 245-63
WTI crude oil: 104.68, -0.81
Gold: 1,321.50, -7.30
Silver: 19.80, -0.35
Take Amazon (AMZN), for instance. On a day after reporting a loss when they were expected to show a gain for the quarter, along with missing on the revenue side and issuing skeptical guidance, the stock erased early losses and ended the day with a tidy gain. So much for fundamental analysis, price-earnings and other metrics which used to be the norm in real, functioning markets.
Today's casino has no correlation trades except those blessed by upturned-nose analysts from top firms who piece together whatever data they can cherry-pick to make their cases. It's really turned into a situation where it's every man, woman and snooty banker for him/herself.
So it was that the Dow erased all of a 140-point loss incurred in the morning (with all but Merck in negative territory) to finish the day with a modest gain. The NASDAQ was even more extreme, whipping down 20 points in the morning only to gain it all back and turn positive shortly before 2:00 pm EDT and post a 0.22% uptick. There was, as is the usual case, no shaking news or market-moving event, other than that one of the biggest thieves on the planet, Steve Cohen and his firm, SAC Capital, have come under the probing eye of the SEC. Cohen will likely settle before he is even charged and the firm will be liquidated, the money going into the coffers of the federal government, which, of course, needs the money since tax revenues are down severely and the budget process is an absolute mess.
Nothing new on Wall Street this Friday. Just more of the rampant theft and manipulation that has become the trademark of our corrupt, greed-infested markets. That and the reliance of Ben Bernanke's Fed putting a floor under the market is about all one can trust these days.
Good grief. If I hear Maria Bartiromo say, "it looks like it wants to go positive," one more time, there may soon be a busted flat screen left out on my front lawn for the trash man. Today's move was a bad joke. Just look at the A-D line.
Enjoy your weekend in the Hamptons, you rich crooked bums, and don't forget to BTFD.
For the rest of you, more silver, gold, tools, machinery and farm land.
Dow 15,558.83, +3.22 (0.02%)
NASDAQ 3,613.16, +7.98 (0.22%)
S&P 500 1,691.65, +1.40 (0.08%)
NYSE Composite 9,620.42, -14.64 (0.15%)
NASDAQ Volume 1,666,886,250
NYSE Volume 2,991,769,500
Combined NYSE & NASDAQ Advance - Decline: 2758-3710
Combined NYSE & NASDAQ New highs - New lows: 245-63
WTI crude oil: 104.68, -0.81
Gold: 1,321.50, -7.30
Silver: 19.80, -0.35
Thursday, July 25, 2013
Stocks Gain After sluggish Start; Amazon Misses
Halfway through earnings season and the Dow has tacked on nearly 600 points since the end of June, so, we're on pace for July - if the trend remains in place - for a gain of over five percent in just this month.
Didn't somebody say, "Sell in May and go away."
In this market, they're dead wrong.
After the close, Amazon (AMZN) reported a two cent loss on expectations of a five cent gain. Revenue was a small miss, but guidance for the next quarter was very soft. The stock was bouncing around in after-hours trade, down as much as four percent.
This remains a very dull market, despite the outsize gains.
Dow 15,555.61, +13.37 (0.09%)
NASDAQ 3,605.19, +25.59 (0.71%)
S&P 500 1,690.25, +4.31 (0.26%)
NYSE Composite 9,635.04, +29.98 (0.31%)
NASDAQ Volume 2,036,177,125
NYSE Volume 3,541,185,500
Combined NYSE & NASDAQ Advance - Decline: 3927-2584
Combined NYSE & NASDAQ New highs - New lows: 371-130
WTI crude oil: 105.49, +0.10
Gold: 1,328.80, +9.10
Silver: 20.15, +0.134
Didn't somebody say, "Sell in May and go away."
In this market, they're dead wrong.
After the close, Amazon (AMZN) reported a two cent loss on expectations of a five cent gain. Revenue was a small miss, but guidance for the next quarter was very soft. The stock was bouncing around in after-hours trade, down as much as four percent.
This remains a very dull market, despite the outsize gains.
Dow 15,555.61, +13.37 (0.09%)
NASDAQ 3,605.19, +25.59 (0.71%)
S&P 500 1,690.25, +4.31 (0.26%)
NYSE Composite 9,635.04, +29.98 (0.31%)
NASDAQ Volume 2,036,177,125
NYSE Volume 3,541,185,500
Combined NYSE & NASDAQ Advance - Decline: 3927-2584
Combined NYSE & NASDAQ New highs - New lows: 371-130
WTI crude oil: 105.49, +0.10
Gold: 1,328.80, +9.10
Silver: 20.15, +0.134
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