The NightCap
The Market: We expected to see a tight trading range until the FOMC statement but instead we saw buyers in advance of the statement as the S&P 500 (SPY) pressed higher. The the announcement came and there was a sharp sell-off but buyers came right back and all 4 major market indices on the WSC Scoreboard finished above the pre-FOMC announcement highs. As was expected by many, the FOMC left the Fed Fund Rates unchanged but, based on the comments, it appears a rate hike is on the table for December if the data warrants. We also saw the committee…
Market bounces but finishes where it started
The Market: An initial gap higher in the morning was quickly sold as it appeared traders were hesitant before the FOMC Rate decision and statement. After the announcement, the market pressed to new intraday lows but then quickly turned and rallied to new intraday highs before closing at the opening print. Utilities (XLU) led the WSC Scoreboard sectors finishing up 0.84%. The XLU reached our target support region and is making a move off that support after a long decline but still has a lot of resistance above and will need to show this is indeed a bottom and not…
Greece rules headlines in slow session
Index & Sector performance 2/9/15 The Market: Losses across the WSC Scoreboard with the Russell 2000 (IWM) leading the way followed by the Dow (DIA), which was affected by McDonald’s (MCD) finishing down 1.35% after reporting a drop in January sales of 1.8%. Otherwise traders seem focused on the continued fighting between Greece and the Eurozone. Energy was the only sector on the WSC Scoreboard to finish higher but it wasn’t by much and was helped by Oil continuing its recovery. Today’s biggest laggard was HeathCare (XLV) which finished down 1.18% followed by Transportation (IYT) down 0.99% and Utilities (XLU)…
Low volume give back after 3 solid days
Index & Sector performance 10/22/14 The Market: Today marked a give back after 3 solid days of gains. The leader to the downside was the index that we have been watching closely for the past few weeks, the Russell 2000 (IWM). The IWM’s underperformance throughout the year was a warning just as its outperformance near the recent bottom. The IWM has put in work to find a bottom and start to move off the lows of last week but it is not our of the woods yet in our opinion. First step is remaining above $107 and then the lows…
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%. …
Tech and HealthCare EPS lead
Index & Sector performance 7/23/14 The Market: Today the stand out index was the NASDAQ (QQQ) which finished 0.64% higher with a lot of help from Apple (AAPL) which finished the day up 2.61% after reporting EPS yesterday after the close. The S&P 500 (SPY) and Russell 2000 (IWM) were relatively flat, while the Dow (DIA) was the clear laggard and the only index to finish down on the session. Weighing on the Dow was Boeing (BA) and Caterpillar (CAT) which finished down 2.34% and 1.53% respectively. In individual sectors it was HealthCare (XLV) which shined helped immensely by Intuitive…
Market recovers after weak GDP
Index & Sector performance 6/25/14 The Market: After a quiet overnight session, the S&P 500 futures spiked lower after the Government announced worse than expected GDP estimates for the first quarter of the year but, after the open, buyers stepped in and all four main indices from the WSC Scoreboard closed higher. In individual sectors HeathCare (XLV) and Transportation (IYT) outperformed closing up 1.06% and 0.99% respectively. The only sector closing lower on the WSC Scoreboard was Consumer Staples (XLP) finishing down 0.16%. The leader in the XLV was Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY) finishing up 2.96% after announcing positive Phase III…
6 day win streak ends..new starts?
Index & Sector performance 4/23/14 The Market: Today’s session snapped a 6 day winning streak for the S&P 500 but the losses were small and maintained a very orderly structure throughout the day. In after hours trading, the futures traded sharply higher helped by Apple’s (AAPL) earnings which beat EPS and revenue along with announcing a 7 for 1 stock split, increase in the buyback, and an 8% increase in the dividend. With tonight’s overnight action, the S&P 500 is now closing in on the all time highs . Focus will continue to be on earnings especially with a very…
Week in Review
DJIA +35.87 (+0.24%) to 15,118.49; S&P 500 +7.03 (+0.43%) to 1,633.70; NASDAQ +19.90 (+0.67%) to 2,981.02 Friday was a very choppy trading session which sent the index bouncing around and when it looked like it could possible be setting up for a late day sell-off ended up instead closing near highs for the day. In economic news the calendar was light but had a great deal of Fed speak throughout the day including Chairman Bernanke right near the open. The Dell (DELL) going private saga continued where two large DELL investors, Carl Icahn and Southeastern Asset Management, advised that they will not be voting for Michael…
Daily Wrap
DJIA +87.31 (+0.58%) to 15,056.20; S&P 500 +8.46 (+0.52%) to 1,625.96; NASDAQ -2.48 (-0.08%) to 2,952.88 My idea of an up morning to noon EST time resulting in a sell off looked good as the S&P 500 initially peaking around 10am EST and then started to sell off losing about 7 points in 15 minutes. That ultimately marked the lows for the day and the bulls stepped in buying the market higher and we finally closed 9 points off of those lows leaving the SPY ETF up over 14% YTD. Electronic Arts (EA) announced a deal with Disney (DIS) to partner on Star Wars video games. …