The NightCap
The Market: Overall it was another tight trading range session but the Russell 2000 (IWM) continued its underperformance and finished down over –1%. It appears that traders may be on hold until the FOMC statement and rate decision tomorrow. Transportation (IYT) sector was the hardest hit on the WSC Scoreboard as the sector ETF finished down -2.65% followed by yesterday’s biggest loser, Energy (XLE), which closed down -1.2%. The biggest gaining sector on the session was HealthCare (XLV) which finished up 1.84% and was helped by Allergan (AGN), Biogen Inc (BIIB), Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc (VRTX), and Mylan NV (MYL) which all…
China’s action spills into global markets
The Market: Stocks opened lower after China suffered its worst losing day in over 8 years but the S&P managed to find a bottom right at the 200 day SMA and has so far rallied off the lows with upside action continuing into the after market. It will be interesting to see how China’s market reacts today and if the S&P can keep the momentum going through the overnight trading and into tomorrow’s open. Also don’t forget we have the FOMC Rate decision and Statement on Wednesday the 29th (full Economic Calendar below). Leading to the downside in today’s session…
Market closes highe but no conviction
Index & Sector performance 3/9/15 The Market: Overall it was a quiet session with not much news or Economic data. The market was able to bounce back today after Friday’s strong sell-off led by the Dow (DIA) but volume was on the light side showing that market participants are not necessarily convinced the decline is over. In individual sectors Industrials (XLI) was the clear leader as names like Boeing (BA), 3M (MMM), and Caterpillar (CAT) put in strong sessions finishing up 1.06%, 1.22% and 0.94% respectively. Energy (XLE) was the lone loser on the session finishing -0.72%. One bright spot,…
Volatility the new norm
Index & Sector performance 10/16/14 The Market: A session like today may look uneventful when scanning the WSC Scoreboard and looking at the end of day changes but it masks the large intraday swings. An example is the S&P 500 (SPY) had a roughly 50 point range from high to low today (5 points in the SPY) which represents nearly 3% based on today’s opening price. Traders and investors need to be prepared for an environment with increased volatility which could last for an extended period. The Russell 2000 (IWM) remains the clear leader of late finishing up over 1%. …
Ceasefire helps stocks higher
Index & Sector performance 8/18/14 The Market: Strong strong session with the Dow (DIA) and Russell 2000 (IWM) closing up over 1% while the S&P 500 (SPY) and NASDAQ (QQQ) were not too far behind. It appears the markets were able to build on Friday’s late day move off the lows being helped by optimism of a Ukraine-Russia ceasefire. The IWM, which has spent the majority of the year in the red, is not only down 0.23% on the year. Multiple sectors posted strong performances including the Transportation (IYT), Retail (XRT), Industrials (XLI), and Financials (XLF) all up over 1%…
Lots of data yields flat finish
Index & Sector performance 7/30/14 The Market: Lots of Economic Data/announcements in today’s session but when the dust settled it was surprisingly a flat session with the NASDAQ (QQQ) and Russell 2000 (IWM) leading while the Dow (DIA) finished slightly lower and the S&P 500 (SPY) finished slightly higher. The leading sector on the WSC Scoreboard was Retail (XRT) finishing the day up 1% however Retail remains the only individual sector on the WSC Scoreboard that is down for the year. The laggard was the Utilities (XLU) and decisively so finishing the day down 1.69%. We remain interested in some…
S&P takes back overnight losses plus
Index & Sector performance 5/5/14 The Market: The S&P futures moved lower in the Sunday overnight session attributed to weak economic data out of China as well continued unrest in Ukraine. The futures continued lower throughout early trading Monday but found a bottom right at the open on an initial spike lower to 1860.50ES which was quickly bought and the index started a march higher reaching 1880ES by 2:30 pm ET. The index spent the last hour consolidating the near 20 point intraday rally. If 1872ES holds in overnight trading it appears the index could look to make a move…
Strong up day ahead of Jobs
Index & Sector performance 2/6/14 The Market: In the News: The following noteworthy companies are scheduled to report earnings before tomorrow’s open: CI, MCO, WYN, LH, BPL, APO, CBOE, MSG, FLIR Analyst Comments: The Game Plan: