I think the issue that dominated today was the Wal-Mart announcement, because it made investors wonder if we're going through another slowdown, ... That certainly weighed on stocks. |
I think the rise can continue a bit longer. We're going to hit some resistance soon from a technical point of view, but I venture to say that this advance could go on for a few more days. |
I wouldn't say we're out of the woods just yet, I would say we've stopped where we should and we'll have to see if we can push higher. |
I'm hoping that because we've gone through virtually a whole month of selling, we'll be in a position to get a good bounce off of the bottom of the trading range. |
If we see a clear outcome in Iraq, then if the economic news kicks in and it's pretty good too, that could be our catalyst. If not, then the (recent) declines become more worrisome. |
Imports rose to a record $177.2 billion, while exports also increased, to a record $111.5 billion. This creates a higher probability that the advance fourth-quarter gross domestic product will not be upgraded substantially higher, since a higher trade deficit subtracts from GDP. |
In Europe, oil and commodity stocks were higher again and that seems to be the theme with crude oil above $74 this morning... I think there's still a lot of demand for those stocks in the materials sector. |
Intel is going to have to have a very, very good report, or we could see more selling in that sector. |
Investors appear to be taking profits in the technology, energy and materials sectors. In addition, financial stocks could come under pressure as rising yields on intermediate-term Treasuries begin to have a negative impact on the mortgage market and credit card debt. |
Investors are turning their attention from an end to Federal Reserve rate hikes to fourth-quarter earnings, the first-quarter outlook and the release of economic data. Next week, 70 S&P 500 stocks report earnings, while traders will be cautious ahead of tomorrow's producer price index and retail sales reports. |
It could get a little antsy in the next few weeks and stretching into mid January. |
It does not feel like the economy has slowed that much, especially since the drop-off would have been higher without the effects from Katrina. But earnings have been so uneven so far; who knows what we'll see? |
It wasn't a good day across a lot of sectors. The rise we saw in the 10-year Treasury spooked some investors today. With the yield curve flattening, it could translate into a slowdown in the housing market. |
It's a big week on the international front and not just from our side. The Bank of England and the Bank of Canada will be making announcements next week plus the Bank of Japan says it's going to start draining liquidity from its system in advance of its first rate hike in years. |
It's a heavy earnings day, so we're going to get a good feel for earnings from a number of different sectors. So far earnings have been good, with 70 percent of companies beating expectations. |