Slow grind higher to start Holiday week
Index & Sector performance 12/22/14 The Market We expected even lighter volume today then we saw but it was still much lighter than the previous sessions. We would not be surprised to see the market continue to drift higher in a choppy manner throughout the holiday trading session and into the New Year. Tomorrow is the heaviest day for Economic data but we are not expecting fireworks. If we do see a pullback we would expect it to be a buying opportunity for short term traders. Reporting EPS 12/23/14 Pre-Market: Big name reporting tomorrow before the open…
Low vol narrow holiday trading range
Index & Sector performance 11/25/14 The Market: Another uneventful holiday trading session across all 4 major indices on the WSC Scoreboard. Action was also muted across the individual sectors with the exception of Energy (XLE) which lost 1.63%. For XLE traders our take is that the lows may hold but we would either be looking for an opportunity to buy lower or on a break above $89.25. In Economic data, estimated 3rd quarter GDP growth came in better than previously reported while Consumer Confidence and the Richmond Manufacturing Index both missed expectations. Tomorrow there is a slew of data including…
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 leads quiet up session
Index & Sector performance 9/10/14 The Market: Administrative note: we will be traveling the remainder of the week so there will be no updates after tonight. A nice bounce back in the markets after yesterday’s late day sell off. The leader in the broad indices was the NASDAQ (QQQ) keying, again, off Apple (AAPL) which finished the session up 3.07%. After being a relative outperformer yesterday in a bad tape, HeathCare (XLV) was the leader on the WSC Scoreboard today finishing the session up 0.70%. Utilities (XLU), yesterday’s biggest loser, saw more downside follow-through finishing the session 0.44% lower. Also…
AAPL helps drive late day sell off
Index & Sector performance 9/9/14 The Market: All major indices on the WSC Scoreboard finished the session lower with the Russell 2000 (IWM) leading the charge down 1.18%. The S&P 500 (SPY) started the session weak but found a bottom in early trading and then managed to rally until 2pm ET when the index turned and sold off making new lows for the session. The NASDAQ (QQQ) held in well during early trading as traders were likely waiting for the Apple (AAPL) product announcement. The initial reaction to AAPL’s news (new/bigger phones, watch, payment system) was positive and the…
Early momentum fades
Index & Sector performance 8/11/14 The Market: Stocks started off the day building on Friday’s gains but near midday the S&P 500 topped out and then spent the rest of the day moving lower. All 4 indices on the WSC Scoreboard finished the day higher but the NASDAQ (QQQ) and Russell 2000 (IWM) were the clear winners with the IWM gaining nearly 1%. The leading sector on the day was the Consumer Staples (XLP) but the stock in the index that stood out the most was to the downside and that is Dean Foods (DF). DF finished the day down…
Early dip finds buyers
Index & Sector performance 6/26/14 The Market: Just before the open the major indices started spiking lower and continued through the bells until roughly 10 am ET before finding a bottom. Then as if nothing happened the market spend the rest of the day climbing back toward even on the day with the S&P 500 (SPY) finishing slightly higher while the other major indices on the WSC Scoreboard finished slightly lower. Just like the broad indices, the individual sectors from the WSC Scoreboard were mixed but all hovering near flat on the day. The Financials (XLF) and Consumer Staples (XLP)…
Higher inflation ahead of Fed
Index & Sector performance 6/17/14 The Market: In today’s Economic news, CPI came in higher than expected while the Building Permits and Housing Starts were below estimates. The initial reaction off this data sent the S&P 500 futures trading lower but ultimately the index bottomed before the open and continued higher the remainder of the day. Checking the WSC scoreboard the Russell 2000 led the charge while the other indices closed flat or slightly higher. In individual sectors, the Financials (XLF) posting a 1.02% gain and the Retailers (XRT) finishing up 0.87% were the strongest groups. In the Financials, MetLife…
S&P 500 pullback coming soon?
Index & Sector performance 6/6/14 The Market: Yet again the Russell 2000 led in today’s trading as all 4 broad indices from the WSC Scoreboard closed higher. Also after spending much of 2014 in the red, the Russell 2000 (IWM) is now ever so slightly higher on the year. Healthcare (XLV) and Utilities (XLU) were the lone laggards in the individual sectors while Energy (XLE), Industrials (XLI), and Transportation (IYT) were the notable leaders. Taking a peak further at the Industrials, which were the overall leader, we see Fluor (FLR) posted a 2.77% gain today following up on a strong…
Early volatility wanes, dull day
Index & Sector performance 6/2/14 The Market: Overall a quiet day in the market if you look at the overall performance but that does not show the early volatility the market saw when the S&P 500 futures dropped roughly 10 points at the open to only “V” bottom and spike back up near where the drop occurred. After that it was tight trading the rest of the day leaving a small up day in the Dow & S&P with the NASDAQ and Russell 2000 closing on the downside. Today there was some drama around ISM Manufacturing PMI after it was…