Daily Market Update

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Daily Market Update - 4/3

Market Direction: Trending Up

Stocks had a good day Wednesday. The S&P 500 closed up 0.3% and the Nasdaq rose 0.2%. The market dipped into the red but came back and closed at the highs. This is the type of action you want to see in stocks. Strong finishes are a good sign of a continuing move to the upside. In economic news, Private payroll processor Automatic Data Processing reported that U.S. private sector jobs rose by 191,000 in March versus the average economist’s estimate of 195,000. The February figure, though, was upwardly revised to 178,000 from 139,000. Factory orders rose 1.6% in February, the most in five months, after falls of 1% in January and 2% in December.

 

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Daily Market Update - 4/4

Market Direction: Trending Up

Stocks headed to the downside Thursday but volume was low. The S&P 500 lost 0.1% and the Nasdaq fell 0.9%. Stocks began the day with modest gains, but were quick to slip into the red. Biotechs fell hard again, which was a reason the Nasdaq did worse. The selling suggests that money could be rotating out of this group. In economic news, Initial jobless claims for the week of March 29 increased by 16,000 to 326,000, vs. the average economist’s estimate of 317,000. The four-week moving average ticked up by 250. The February U.S. trade deficit arrived at $42.3 billion, compared with the expected deficit of $38.5 billion.

 

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Daily Market Update - 4/7

Market Direction: Trending Down

Stocks took a heavy hit on Friday which turned the market back around into a downtrend. The S&P 500 fell 1.3% and the Nasdaq plunged 2.6%. Volume rose on all major exchanges. So far, 2014 has provided a tough climate for making money in stocks. Moves in the major indexes haven’t been dramatic, and the market hasn’t given bulls or bears much to work with. Accept that reality and react accordingly. Wait patiently for the sort of market circumstances that will make gains more likely. In economic news, he government jobs report for March showed a good pace of job creation with an addition of 192,000 jobs vs. the average economist’s estimate of 200,000 jobs. The February figure was revised up to 197,000. The jobless rate remained at 6.7%; a dip to 6.6% was expected.

 

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Daily Market Update - 4/8

Market Direction: Trending Down

Stocks were a victim of more selling on Monday. The S&P 500 gave up 1.1% and the Nasdaq dropped 1.2%. The Nasdaq fell further below its 50-day moving average and now stands 6% off its recent high. Similar to Friday, equity indices spent the session in a steady retreat as momentum names remained volatile. In economic news, the Consumer Credit report for February, which indicated an increase of $16.50 billion after increasing an upwardly revised $13.80 billion (from $13.70 billion) in January. That was the largest monthly expansion since October 2013.

 

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Daily Market Update - 4/9

Market Direction: Trending Down

Stocks bounced back on Tuesday. The S&P 500 added 0.4% and the Nasdaq jumped 0.8%. Volume was low on all the major indexes which showed that the big money investors were not jumping back into the market. Stocks exhibited some volatility during the opening hour before setting off on a climb to new session highs. The Nasdaq, which was the weakest index in recent days, stayed ahead of its peers throughout the day as momentum names recovered some of their recent losses. The market still remains in a downtrend. In economic news, the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey for February, which indicated job openings rose to 4.173 million from 3.874 million.

 

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Daily Market Update - 4/10

Market Direction: Trending Down

Stocks showed strong movement on Wednesday but volume was low on all major exchanges. The S&P 500 rose 1.1% and the Nasdaq jumped 1.7%. With volume being low, this shows big investors are not jumping back into the market. The current market direction still remains in a downtrend. If you look at the chart of the S&P 500 you will see that over the past six weeks, the index has made virtually no headway, even after it jumped to new all-time highs last week. Stocks held solid gains into the afternoon, with a second push coming after the release of the FOMC Minutes from the March policy meeting. The minutes revealed that policymakers are not necessarily committed to hiking the fed funds rate in the first half of 2015.

 

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Daily Market Update - 4/11

Market Direction: Trending Down

Stocks fell hard on Thursday. The S&P 500 fell 2.1% and the Nasdaq plunged 3.1%. Volume rose on all the major exchanges, meaning big money investors such as fund managers were selling. In the past five sessions, the indexes have fallen in rising volume three times and rose in lower volume twice. Down days in aggressive volume combined with up days in weak volume are the textbook definition of a weak market. In economic news, The weekly initial claims level fell to 300,000-its lowest point since May 2007-from an upwardly revised 332,000 (from 326,000).

 

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Daily Market Update - 4/15

Market Direction: Trending Down

Stocks rebounded on Monday and logged their first win in three days. The S&P 500 rose 0.8% and the Nasdaq rose 0.6%. Volume was on the low end again. The action today continued the pattern of up days on low volume which shows big investors are not jumping back into the market. The market direction is still in a downtrend. In economic, retail sales increased 1.1% in March after increasing an upwardly revised 0.7% (from 0.3%) in February. Auto sales contributed significantly to overall sales growth.Sales at motor vehicle and parts dealers increased 3.1% in March after increasing 2.5% in February.

 

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Daily Market Update - 4/16

Market Direction: Trending Down

Stocks recovered from early heavy losses on Tuesday. The S&P 500 rose 0.7% and the Nasdaq gained 0.3%. Stocks jumped out of the gate during the first half hour of trading but turned lower after the NAHB Housing Market Index came in at 47, below the consensus estimate of 49, and the third straight reading below 50. A number above 50 means more builders view conditions as good rather than poor. Tuesday’s resilient showing by the stock indexes was encouraging, but it’s only the first day of a rally attempt. That means the market needs to prove itself more.