Stocks in Limited Slide on North Korea Threats, Trump's "Fire and Fury" Response

This is more kabuki theatre.

Trump cannot declare war on North Korea. According to the constitution (remember that?) only congress can declare war.

So forget it. The entire North Korea scenario is probably more deep state phoniness. The markets didn't seem to notice much, if at all.

Boorish, is what it all is.

At the Close, 8/9/17:
Dow: 22,048.70, -36.64 (-0.17%)
NASDAQ: 6,352.33, -18.13 (-0.28%)
S&P 500: 2,474.02, -0.90 (-0.04%)
NYSE Composite: 11,929.46, -20.50 (-0.17%)

10-Day Winning Streak on the Dow Industrials Ends With Whimper

With closing highs in the past ten straight sessions, the Dow Jones Industrial Average could well be expected to take a bit of a hit at some point, that point coming on Tuesday, though the hit was not substantial, as the Dow shed just 33 points.

Putting the past ten sessions in perspective, the Dow's winning streak began at just above 21,500, and, before retreating into the close, topped out at nearly 22,200, overall, a gain of almost 700 points, or 3.25%. Annualizing the results, if the Dow were to move in the same direction for a full year, the gain would be more than 33,000 points, resulting in a gain of more than 150%.

With those kinds of numbers nobody in their right mind with more than $40,000 of investible income would bother to work.

These mental gymnastics are brought to you by the Federal Reserve Bank, the Bank of Japan, the European Central Bank and the Swiss National Bank. All of these central banks other than the US Fed, have been and will continue to be openly investing in US equities and those in other developed nations.

There's a certain folly in expecting the central banks to continue supplying extraordinary gains in stocks, so distorted already are the equity - and many other - markets.

At the Close, 8/8/17:
Dow: 22,085.34, -33.08 (-0.15%)
NASDAQ: 6,370.46, -13.31 (-0.21%)
S&P 500: 2,474.92, -5.99 (-0.24%)
NYSE Composite: 11,949.98, -37.79 (-0.32%)

Another Day, Another Dow Record Close

Borrowing a line from "Seinfeld," serenity now, insanity later.

At the Close, 8/7/17:
Dow: 22,118.42, +25.61 (0.12%)
NASDAQ: 6,383.77, +32.21 (0.51%)
S&P 500: 2,480.91, +4.08 (0.16%)
NYSE Composite: 11,987.77, +2.89 (0.02%)

Dow Continues to Careen Higher as Other Indices Lag

Maybe the markets are broken by HFTs, computer algorithms, program trading, bid stuffing, and an assortment of hype, funny fiat money, low interest rates and the hunt for yield.

Maybe not, but, the week's look at the major indices indicates that only the Dow Jones Industrials posted solid gains (rising for the 9th straight session to another all-time high) while the other three major averages were essentially running in place, the NASDAQ actually posting a loss.

It's not unusual for one index to lead the market, but, since the 2008, stocks have made outsize gains and the darlings on the Dow have exceeded all expectations. Despite carrying some of the most obscenely-high P/E ratios in market history, traders continue to bang away at the McDonalds, Apples and Intels of the world, as though there is nothing other to buy.

These are the kinds of trading decisions which lead to apathy and eventual market convulsions. For now, however, there's nothing but the Dow Jones Industrial Average to prompt the cheerleading from everyone from the President of the United States on down.

Having a runaway stock market may be a sign of a strong economy, but, in this case, since it is so isolated, it should be viewed as a sign of imbalance.

At the Close, 8/4/17:
Dow: 22,092.81, +66.71 (0.30%)
NASDAQ 6,351.56, +11.22 (0.18%)
S&P 500 2,476.83, +4.67 (0.19%)
NYSE Composite: 11,984.89, +28.37 (0.24%)

For the Week:
Dow: +262.50 (1.20%)
NASDAQ: -23.11 (-0.36%)
S&P 500: +4.73 (0.19%)
NYSE Composite: +30.20 (0.25%)

Indices Split Again, Dow Only Gainer; NFP Shows 209,000 July Jobs

The rally fizzled badly on Thursday, but the market may get a boost from strong jobs data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), which showed non-farm payrolls increasing by 209,000 in the month of July.

All the major index futures are showing plus signs prior to the opening bell on Wall Street. The official unemployment rate fell to 4.3%, matching the 16-year low set back in May.

With all this good news on the employment front, there seems to be nothing capable of holding back another rally on Wall Street to close out the week.

If all of this seems to be a trifle boring, it's because the Dow has now posted gains in each of the last eight sessions, rising from 21,500 to over 22,000 over that short span.

The other indices don't appear to share the enthusiasm for the Dow. The NASDAQ in particular has been down five of the last six sessions.

Perhaps this is just money moving from speculative tech stocks into solid dividend-paying stocks on the Dow, although Apple (AAPL), Microsoft (MSFT) and Intel (INTC) are all components of the 30 Dow Jones Industrials.

At the Close, 8/3/17:
Dow: 22,026.10, +9.86 (0.04%)
NASDAQ: 6,340.34, -22.30 (-0.35%)
S&P 500: 2,472.16, -5.41 (-0.22%)
NYSE Composite: 11,956.52, -22.85 (-0.19%)