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C
onsidering that ass of Friday afternoon (Strayan time) I am rooting for the long side (for the time being - maybe another 200-300 Dow points), you might be surprised that I am pleased at the weak nature of the advance so far. After all, everybody loves a 'V' bottom.
Problem is, 'V' bottoms aren't sustainable... and usually they are nothing more than shorts taking pofits (or late shorts being squeezed).
Anyway... it is actually a good thing that buyers are behaving like sissies: any little squirt upwards resulted in a retreat that made the French army look brave by comparison. Considering they have been professional capitulators since Vercingetorix, you have to bring cowardice to new levels in order to beat it... but the bulls are doing so at the moment. That's a good thing, mind you... once the crowd gets engaged it will be all over.
In a session or three there'll be a nuffnuff stampede upwards as the dumb money decides everything is dandy... then guys like me will take profits and the nuffnuffs will bleed money as the market screams lower... again.
It might be terribly sad that 'the little guy' will get hoed (again), but frankly you've got to think a bit harder when investing.
Let's say you're a wildebeest (arguably the wrong model since they are smarter than 95% of Americans).
Every year you and ten thousand chums go on a trek, and you have to cross a crocodile-infested river.
By sheer luck you survive three river crossings - during which you see hundreds of your fellow wildbeest get eaten by crocodiles.
If you then decide to followthe herd into the water on crossing number 4, you get no sympathy from me.
And if you're a new wildebeest and you don't listen to those who have made three crossings, then you're also out of luck in your search for sympathy.
Finally - if you make your decision on the word of some git who works for the crocodiles, you deserve everything you get.
As I said in the short post before todays USRant, the selling in Crude last night was stupid and overdone... so I'm long Crude here (at $42.07).
Don't get me wrong - I am not marryng this trade... I'l exit around the $42.44-48 mark... I'll pocket enough to make the trade wrthwhile, and declare myself victorious.
Economic News
The Conference Board's Index of consumer Sentiment fell to a level not seen since at least 1990.
Big deal. that index is worse than the LEI; the consuer sentiment index shows the extent to which consumers look backwards... it should properly be called "the Conference Board's Index of the market's performance two months ago"... that's the only thing with which it is correlated.
Headline Indices
The Dow Jones Industrial Average index (DJI) added 58.7 points (0.72%) to 8174.73 points. The index high for the day was 8225.79, while the low was 8083.14.
Total volume traded in the 30 components of the index was 1.1bn shares. Advancers outpaced decliners by 5 to one, with 25 advancers to 5 decliners. Advancing volume exceeded declining volume by 986.33m to 113.54m shares. The biggest gainers (percentage-wise) were -- American Express (AXP) +1.48 (9.7%) to $16.68 on volume of 27.66m shares;
- Bank Of America (BAC) +0.5 (8.3%) to $6.5 on volume of 185.16m shares;
- AIG (AIG) +0.09 (7.1%) to $1.35 on volume of 17.66m shares;
- Citigroup (C) +0.22 (6.6%) to $3.55 on volume of 172.68m shares; and
- General Electric (GE) +0.64 (5.2%) to $13.06 on volume of 114.84m shares.
The S&P500 index (SPX) added 9.14 points (1.09%) to 845.71 points. Total volume traded in the 500 components of the index was 3.93bn shares. Advancers outpaced decliners by 2.8 to one, with 350 advancers to 126 decliners. Advancing volume exceeded declining volume by 2.9bn to 954.67m shares. The biggest gainers (percentage-wise) were -
- Convergys Corp. (CVG) +1.32 (18.7%) to $8.39 on volume of 4.94m shares;
- MGIC Investment (MTG) +0.34 (17.7%) to $2.26 on volume of 4.76m shares;
- Zions Bancorp (ZION) +1.89 (15.5%) to $14.08 on volume of 9.48m shares;
- AFLAC Inc. (AFL) +2.52 (12.8%) to $22.14 on volume of 24.23m shares; and
- Peabody Energy (BTU) +2.86 (12%) to $26.7 on volume of 17.08m shares.
The Nasdaq Composite advanced +15.44 points (1.04%) to 1504.90 points. while the Nasdaq100 gained +9.85 points (0.83%) to 1194.41 points..
The Nasdaq100 index (NDX) rose 9.85 points (0.83%) to 1194.41 points. Total volume traded in the 100 components of the index was 761.31m shares. Advancers outpaced decliners by 2.5 to one, with 69 advancers to 28 decliners. Advancing volume exceeded declining volume by 570.45m to 183.85m shares. The biggest gainers (percentage-wise) were -
- Steel Dynamics (STLD) +1.54 (15%) to $11.78 on volume of 15.63m shares;
- Check Point Software Technologies (CHKP) +1.8 (8.6%) to $22.84 on volume of 5.92m shares;
- Research in Motion (RIMM) +3.2 (6.3%) to $53.91 on volume of 26.73m shares;
- Fastenal (FAST) +1.98 (6.1%) to $34.58 on volume of 3.11m shares; and
- NVIDIA (NVDA) +0.47 (5.9%) to $8.44 on volume of 18.05m shares.
Volatility
The CBOE Volatility Index dipped 3.44 points (7.53%) to 42.25 points. and the CBOE Nasdaq100 Volatility Index declined 1.9 points (4.22%) to 43.10 points..
Breadth and Internals
A total of 3855 issues traded today on the NYSE; 2579 stocks posted gains for the day, and there were 1169 losers. 8 stocks made new 1-year highs on the NYSE, while 71 shares plumbed new 52-week depths.
On the Nasdaq 2910 tickers traded today; total Nasdaq volume was 1.78bn shares. A total of 1729 stocks posted gains for the day, with aggregate volume of 1.23bn shares changing hands in the day's winners. The red zone of the Nasdaq exchange comprised 1047 losers, and total declining volume was 0.53bn shares. 8 Nasdaq-listed stocks hit new 52-week highs, while 102 shares dipped to new 1-year lows.
| Major Market Statistics | |||
| Index | Close | Gain(Loss) | % |
| Dow Jones Industrial Average | 8174.73 | +58.70 | 0.72% |
| S&P500 Index | 845.71 | +9.14 | 1.09% |
| Nasdaq Composite | 1504.90 | +15.44 | 1.04% |
| Nasdaq100 | 1194.41 | +9.85 | 0.83% |
| CBOE Volatility Index | 42.25 | -3.44 | -7.53% |
| CBOE Nasdaq100 Volatility Index | 43.10 | -1.90 | -4.22% |
Dow Darlings
- American Express (AXP) +1.48 (9.7%) to $16.68 on volume of 27.7m units
- Bank Of America (BAC) +0.50 (8.3%) to $6.50 on volume of 185.2m units
- Citigroup (C) +0.22 (6.6%) to $3.55 on volume of 172.7m units
- General Electric (GE) +0.64 (5.2%) to $13.06 on volume of 115.1m units
- Intel (INTC) +0.43 (3.2%) to $13.81 on volume of 45m units
Dow Duds:
- AT&T (T) -0.9 (3.4%) to $25.93 on volume of 34.4m units
- Verizon (VZ) -1.03 (3.3%) to $29.96 on volume of 31.3m units
- Home Depot (HD) -0.61 (2.7%) to $22.12 on volume of 21.4m units
- Caterpillar (CAT) -0.35 (1.1%) to $32.32 on volume of 20.2m units
- General Motors (GM) -0.03 (0.9%) to $3.35 on volume of 6.3m units
Most Traded Dow stocks:
- Bank Of America (BAC) +0.50 (8.3%) to $6.50 on volume of 185.2m units
- Citigroup (C) +0.22 (6.6%) to $3.55 on volume of 172.7m units
- General Electric (GE) +0.64 (5.2%) to $13.06 on volume of 115.1m units
- Pfizer (PFE) +0.17 (1.1%) to $15.82 on volume of 111.2m units
- Microsoft (MSFT) +0.03 (0.2%) to $17.66 on volume of 61.2m units
Precious Metals
The Gold Bugs index (XAU) dropped -2.17 points (1.74%) to 122.43 points. Total volume traded in the 16 components of the index was 125.35m shares. Decliners outpaced gainers by 1.5 to one, with 9 decliners to 6 advancers. Declining volume was greater than advancing volume by 87.49m to 35.27m shares. The main decliners (in percentage terms) were -
- Silver Wheaton (SLW) -0.51 (7.3%) to $6.45 on volume of 12.52m shares;
- Agnico Eagle Mines (AEM) -2.51 (4.6%) to $52.33 on volume of 5.9m shares;
- Newmnt Mining (NEM) -1.66 (3.8%) to $41.71 on volume of 8.85m shares;
- Kinroos Gold (KGC) -0.54 (3.1%) to $17.05 on volume of 11.37m shares; and
- Barrick Gold (ABX) -1.14 (3%) to $37.08 on volume of 13.79m shares.
Energy Complex
The Oil Services index (OSX) gained 0.31 points (0.24%) to 128.88 points. Total volume traded in the 15 components of the index was 101.81m shares. Advancers outpaced decliners by 1.1 to one, with 8 advancers to 7 decliners; however declining volume was greater than advancing volume by 52.06m to 49.75m shares. The biggest gainers (percentage-wise) were -
- Weatherford International (WFT) +0.28 (2.6%) to $11.16 on volume of 16.77m shares;
- Tidewater (TDW) +0.8 (2%) to $40.09 on volume of 1.16m shares;
- National Oilwell Varco (NOV) +0.45 (1.7%) to $26.8 on volume of 8.47m shares;
- Oceaneering International (OII) +0.52 (1.6%) to $32.96 on volume of 0.7m shares; and
- Global Industries (GLBL) +0.04 (1.2%) to $3.37 on volume of 0.65m shares.
Bellwethers
The nine-stock group that makes up the Rant bellwethers advanced on average by 1.4%. The fallout occurred as follows:
- General Electric (GE) +0.64 (5.15%) to $13.06 on volume of 115.12m units.
- Citigroup (C) +0.22 (6.61%) to $3.55 on volume of 172.71m units.
- Wal-Mart (WMT) +0.19 (0.39%) to $48.79 on volume of 16.01m units.
- IBM (IBM) +0.06 (0.07%) to $91.66 on volume of 8.46m units.
- Intel (INTC) +0.43 (3.21%) to $13.81 on volume of 44.97m units.
- Cisco Systems (CSCO) +0.43 (2.64%) to $16.73 on volume of 49.66m units.
- Google (GOOG) +7.61 (2.35%) to $331.48 on volume of 4.88m units.
- Fannie Mae (FNM) -0.02 (3.13%) to $0.62 on volume of 10.95m units.
- Freddie Mac (FRE) -0.03 (4.69%) to $0.61 on volume of 7.21m units.
Other Indices of Interest...
The Banks index (BKX) gained 0.9 points (3.26%) to 28.48 points. Total volume traded in the 24 components of the index was 653.45m shares. Advancers outpaced decliners by 3.2 to one, with 16 advancers to 5 decliners. Advancing volume exceeded declining volume by 588.04m to 65.42m shares. The biggest gainers (percentage-wise) were -
- Zions Bancorp (ZION) +1.89 (15.5%) to $14.08 on volume of 9.48m shares;
- Bank Of America (BAC) +0.5 (8.3%) to $6.5 on volume of 185.16m shares;
- Citigroup Inc (C) +0.22 (6.6%) to $3.55 on volume of 172.68m shares;
- PNC Financial (PNC) +1.68 (5.5%) to $32.15 on volume of 7.85m shares; and
- US Bancorp (USB) +0.69 (5.3%) to $13.7 on volume of 31.07m shares.
The Semiconductor index (SOX) rose 7.39 points (3.52%) to 217.28 points. Total volume traded in the 18 components of the index was 213.02m shares. Not a single stock declined withinin the index: 18 of the 18 index components rose, with total upside volume of 213.02mshares. The biggest gainers (percentage-wise) were -
- Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) +0.13 (6.5%) to $2.14 on volume of 12.85m shares;
- Infineon Tech (IFX) +0.05 (6.2%) to $0.86 on volume of 2.27m shares;
- Novellus Systems (NVLS) +0.84 (6.1%) to $14.57 on volume of 5.18m shares;
- Marvell Technology (MRVL) +0.36 (5.3%) to $7.2 on volume of 12.23m shares; and
- Xilinx (XLNX) +0.78 (4.8%) to $17.06 on volume of 10.13m shares.
The ChildKiller ("Defence") index (DFX) added 0.62 points (0.25%) to 253.27 points. Total volume traded in the 17 components of the index was 144.04m shares. Advancers outpaced decliners by 1.7 to one, with 10 advancers to 6 decliners. Advancing volume exceeded declining volume by 132.66m to 11.38m shares. The biggest gainers (percentage-wise) were -
- General Electric (GE) +0.64 (5.2%) to $13.06 on volume of 114.84m shares;
- Teledyne Tech (TDY) +0.74 (2.5%) to $30.15 on volume of 0.63m shares;
- ITT Corporation (ITT) +0.99 (2.2%) to $46.93 on volume of 0.99m shares;
- General Dynamics (GD) +1.12 (2.1%) to $55.72 on volume of 2.58m shares; and
- Rockwell Collins (COL) +0.54 (1.4%) to $38.19 on volume of 1.29m shares.
