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Tell me again how bearish everybody is... today's action reflects a level of financial devil-may-care that can't end well.
Volume was light, and it was a Friday. Plus, it was a sole session sandwiched between New Year's Day and the weekend.
It still shows that US equity market participants have a child-like faith in their crony-capitalist system. Somehow folks are prepared to believe that the best solutions to the current problems can be provided by people who got the world into this mess, yet never saw it coming: people like Paulson, who declared as it was unfolding that there was nothing to worry about, and then when it got worse declared again that he and his kind knew how to fix it.
Furthermore, the consensus view is that the solution for overconsumption and excessive debt and deteriorated balance sheets is... more consumption, more debt, and a further deterioration of balance sheets. Heroin giving you a headache? you can fix it with a few more fits. Crack making you upchuck? Hit that pipe some more. Nasal septum melting from all that coke? A few dozen more lines and you'll be stylin'.
OK... labouring the point a tad, I know.
Anyway - I almost didn't write today's USRant, as a small protest against the lack of US intervention in Gaza.
If the US government's rhetoric was to be believed (i.e., the commitment to human rights and democracy and freedom and all that PR shit that they spout), then The US should invade 'Israel' (I always use quotes because I know what Israel means).
Now there is a country with a more overtly doctrinaire religious establishment than Iran. the US ought to invade, and replace its brutalising apartheid 'Master Race' regime with a democracy where every inhabitant gets a vote. I don't believe in democracy - as Mencken said, it tries to make inferiority a virtue: still, there has to be some way for the dispossessed to get their land back (after all, 'Israel' violated the terms of its grant of land immediately after getting it).
The Ashke-Nazi state of 'Israel' is about to enter its second week of industrial child-killing in Gaza. This, after two years of doing the same thing by blockade, starving the Gazans of food and medical supplies - in violation of international law, of UN resolutions (regarding both Gaza and the West Bank) and of everything except the imprimatur of a clique of bought-and-bribed-and-blackmailed US congressmen.
And yet the western media keeps parrotting the lie that the slaughter is all driven by the ineffectual rockets fired into 'Israel' by radical elements within Gaza. No mention of the blockade; no mention that Hamas had specifically decreed an end to suicide bombings; no mention that - since 2000 - only 19 Israelis have died as a result of the rockets (some of those from heart attacks), versus thousands of Gazans killed, over a quarter of which were children.
Why do the vampires who lead 'Israel' get a pass in the Western press? The west has all-but blamed Robert Mugabe for cholera - as if a President is responsible for people being too stupid to make any effort to boil dirty water before they drink it. I'm no fan of Mugabe, as you know, but he's not to blame for cholera - he's to blame for dispossession, for economic decay, for bloodhsed and rapine... but not for water-borne disease resulting from drinking faeces-contaminated water.
Is it really just that everyone is too scared of being labelled anti-semitic? That would be insane, considering that the Ahske-Nazi are the descendants of central Europeans, and are about as Semitic as Bertie Wooster. Here's a hint - their skin colour: they are the same colour as the residents of Vladivostok or St Petersberg; very different from the duskier hues found in the Negev.
I've said this before - I am less interested in da Jooze than I am in candida albicans... nobody likes itchy balls. If some group of dumbass peasants wants to believe that they are the Master Race as a result of some dude's conversation with a burning tree, then everyone should pretty much just laugh at them and be done with it. I certainly don't believe that da Jooze are more inclined to theft or corruption than us shkutzim. I've contributed to Neturei Karta on several occasions, despite the fact that I have no truck whatsoever with their silly religion where their god likes foreskins and burning offal. (My collaboration with Neturei Karta is driven primarily by shared anti-Zionism).No, this is not a 'Joo thing'. It is a question of whether any regime has a right to brutalise people whose land it occupies. Natural Right (and international law) says clearly that no regime has such a right. The UN Security Council cannot do anything about it because the US will veto any suggestion that 'Israel' behave like a civilised people: I guess you can't expect civilisation from a bunch of Khazar scum peasants anyway - a muddy hovel in central Europe is a far more filthy and brutal place than a tent in the Palestinian desert.
Speaking of corrupt scum: did you notice that the day after oil prices spiked 10%, the US government announced its intention to increase the SPR (Strategic Petroleum Reserve) by 12 million barrels?
Economic News
The ISM index fell another 10% to 32.4 - consensus had been for a dip to 35.4 or thereabouts. 32.4 is the lowest reading since 1980 (and parts of the index were at the lowest levels since 1948). So why wouldn't you want to buy stocks in such a booming economy?
Headline Indices
The Dow Jones Industrial Average index (DJI) gained 258.3 points (2.94%) to 9034.69 points. The index high for the day was 9065.28, while the low was 8760.78 (set at the open).
Total volume traded in the 30 components of the index was 741.33m shares. Advancers outpaced decliners by 29 to one, with 29 advancers to 1 decliners. Advancing volume exceeded declining volume by 708.89m to 32.44m shares. The biggest gainers (percentage-wise) were -
- General Motors (GM) +0.45 (14.1%) to $3.65 on volume of 25.87m shares;
- AIG (AIG) +0.12 (7.6%) to $1.69 on volume of 32.63m shares;
- Alcoa (AA) +0.85 (7.5%) to $12.11 on volume of 30.47m shares;
- Citigroup (C) +0.43 (6.4%) to $7.14 on volume of 104.59m shares; and
- Boeing (BA) +2.58 (6%) to $45.25 on volume of 7m shares.
The S&P500 index (SPX) rose 28.55 points (3.16%) to 931.8 points. Total volume traded in the 500 components of the index was 2.8bn shares. Advancers outpaced decliners by 16.8 to one, with 453 advancers to 27 decliners. Advancing volume exceeded declining volume by 2.6bn to 124.51m shares. The biggest gainers (percentage-wise) were -
- Liz ClaiborneInc. (LIZ) +0.71 (27.3%) to $3.31 on volume of 4.37m shares;
- Unisys Corp. (UIS) +0.18 (21.2%) to $1.03 on volume of 4.56m shares;
- Dynegy Inc. (DYN) +0.38 (19%) to $2.38 on volume of 7.82m shares;
- Office Depot (ODP) +0.52 (17.4%) to $3.5 on volume of 4.55m shares; and
- Massey Energy Company (MEE) +2.4 (17.4%) to $16.19 on volume of 5.69m shares.
The Nasdaq Composite rose 55.18 points (3.5%) to 1632.21 points. while the Nasdaq100 rose 52.05 points (4.3%) to 1263.70 points.
The Nasdaq100 index (NDX) rose 52.05 points (4.3%) to 1263.7 points. Total volume traded in the 100 components of the index was 630.68m shares. Advancers outpaced decliners by 97 to one, with 97 advancers to 1 decliners. Advancing volume exceeded declining volume by 627.17m to 3.52m shares. The biggest gainers (percentage-wise) were -
- NII Holdings (NIHD) +3.08 (16.9%) to $21.26 on volume of 2.91m shares;
- SanDisk (SNDK) +1.48 (15.4%) to $11.08 on volume of 9.67m shares;
- Garmin (GRMN) +2.6 (13.6%) to $21.77 on volume of 1.88m shares;
- Wynn Resorts (WYNN) +5.16 (12.2%) to $47.42 on volume of 1.36m shares; and
- Lamar Advertising (LAMR) +1.5 (11.9%) to $14.06 on volume of 1.4m shares.
Volatility
The CBOE Volatility Index declined 0.81 points (2.03%) to 39.19 points. and the CBOE Nasdaq100 Volatility Index dropped 1.68 points (4.12%) to 39.11 points..
Breadth and Internals
A total of 3712 issues traded today on the NYSE; today's total volume was 4.08bn shares. A total of 2990 stocks posted gains for the day, and volume in advancing issues totalled 3.55bn shares. Exerting downwards pressure on the index were 661 losers, which accounted for a total declining volume of 0.5bn shares. 8 stocks made new 1-year highs on the NYSE, while 24 shares plumbed new 52-week depths.
On the Nasdaq 2936 tickers traded today; total Nasdaq volume was 1.44bn shares. A total of 2094 stocks posted gains for the day, with aggregate volume of 1.3bn shares changing hands in the day's winners. The red zone of the Nasdaq exchange comprised 754 losers, and total declining volume was 0.13bn shares. 16 Nasdaq-listed stocks hit new 52-week highs, while 30 shares dipped to new 1-year lows.
| Major Market Statistics | |||
| Index | Close | Gain(Loss) | % |
| Dow Jones Industrial Average | 9034.69 | +258.30 | 2.94% |
| S&P500 Index | 931.80 | +28.55 | 3.16% |
| Nasdaq Composite | 1632.21 | +55.18 | 3.5% |
| Nasdaq100 | 1263.70 | +52.05 | 4.3% |
| CBOE Volatility Index | 39.19 | -0.81 | -2.03% |
| CBOE Nasdaq100 Volatility Index | 39.11 | -1.68 | -4.12% |
Dow Darlings
- General Motors (GM) +0.45 (14.1%) to $3.65 on volume of 25.9m units
- Alcoa (AA) +0.85 (7.5%) to $12.11 on volume of 30.5m units
- Citigroup (C) +0.43 (6.4%) to $7.14 on volume of 104.6m units
- Boeing (BA) +2.58 (6%) to $45.25 on volume of 7m units
- Disney Corp (DIS) +1.23 (5.4%) to $23.92 on volume of 9.8m units
Dow Duds:
- JPMorganChase (JPM) -0.18 (0.6%) to $31.35 on volume of 32.4m units
Most Traded Dow stocks:
- Citigroup (C) +0.43 (6.4%) to $7.14 on volume of 104.6m units
- Bank Of America (BAC) +0.25 (1.8%) to $14.33 on volume of 86.5m units
- General Electric (GE) +0.87 (5.4%) to $17.07 on volume of 57m units
- Intel (INTC) +0.54 (3.7%) to $15.2 on volume of 52.1m units
- Microsoft (MSFT) +0.89 (4.6%) to $20.33 on volume of 49.9m units
Bellwethers
The nine-stock group that makes up the Rant bellwethers advanced on average by 2.9%. The fallout occurred as follows:
- General Electric (GE) +0.87 (5.37%) to $17.07 on volume of 57m units.
- Citigroup (C) +0.43 (6.41%) to $7.14 on volume of 104.59m units.
- Wal-Mart (WMT) +1.12 (2%) to $57.18 on volume of 16m units.
- IBM (IBM) +3.21 (3.81%) to $87.37 on volume of 7.55m units.
- Intel (INTC) +0.54 (3.68%) to $15.20 on volume of 52.1m units.
- Cisco Systems (CSCO) +0.66 (4.05%) to $16.96 on volume of 40.84m units.
- Google (GOOG) +13.67 (4.44%) to $321.32 on volume of 3.6m units.
- Fannie Mae (FNM) -0.03 (3.95%) to $0.73 on volume of 13.31m units.
- Freddie Mac (FRE) -0 (0%) to $0.73 on volume of 12.8m units.
Other Indices of Interest...
The Banks index (BKX) rose 0.86 points (1.94%) to 45.18 points. Total volume traded in the 24 components of the index was 336.06m shares. Advancers outpaced decliners by 3.2 to one, with 16 advancers to 5 decliners. Advancing volume exceeded declining volume by 287.88m to 48.18m shares. The biggest gainers (percentage-wise) were -
- Regions Financial (RF) +0.65 (8.2%) to $8.61 on volume of 8.91m shares;
- Citigroup Inc (C) +0.43 (6.4%) to $7.14 on volume of 104.59m shares;
- Comerica Inc (CMA) +1.1 (5.5%) to $20.95 on volume of 2.5m shares;
- State Street (STT) +1.77 (4.5%) to $41.1 on volume of 3.25m shares; and
- Capital One Financial (COF) +1.42 (4.5%) to $33.31 on volume of 4.36m shares.
The Semiconductor index (SOX) gained 9.74 points (4.59%) to 221.91 points. Total volume traded in the 18 components of the index was 182.03m shares. Not a single stock declined withinin the index. The biggest gainers (percentage-wise) were -
- Sandisk (SNDK) +1.48 (15.4%) to $11.08 on volume of 9.67m shares;
- Teradyne (TER) +0.45 (10.7%) to $4.67 on volume of 4.39m shares;
- Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) +0.22 (10.2%) to $2.38 on volume of 13.69m shares;
- Micron Technology (MU) +0.2 (7.6%) to $2.84 on volume of 17.54m shares; and
- National Semiconductor (NSM) +0.75 (7.4%) to $10.82 on volume of 4.7m shares.
The ChildKiller ("Defence") index (DFX) gained 9.73 points (3.66%) to 275.76 points. Total volume traded in the 17 components of the index was 82.64m shares. Not a single stock declined withinin the index: 16 of the 17 index components rose, with total upside volume of 82.64mshares. The biggest gainers (percentage-wise) were -
- Embraer Empresa (ERJ) +1.1 (6.8%) to $17.31 on volume of 0.61m shares;
- ITT Corporation (ITT) +2.8 (6.1%) to $48.79 on volume of 1.48m shares;
- Boeing (BA) +2.58 (6%) to $45.25 on volume of 7m shares;
- General Electric (GE) +0.87 (5.4%) to $17.07 on volume of 57m shares; and
- Rockwell Collins (COL) +1.71 (4.4%) to $40.8 on volume of 0.66m shares.
