The U.S. Stock Market declined on light trading today after weak housing figures for existing and new home sales in the month of November.  Consumer sentiment figures also came out low again today. 
Enough of the dreary stock market commentary!
I want to take this time to wish everyone a safer and happy holiday season, and Happy […]

The stock market traded lower Monday,  but well off its lows, in quiet trading on Monday.  I really like the set up I see on the charts, as most of the major averages appear to be gearing up for an upside breakout.  Tuesday is a seasonally favored trading day, as it is the last full trading […]

For Monday, I like the possibility of a nice directional move to the upside in the stock market.  If not on Monday, watch for this on Tuesday.  This is a seasonally favored time period, and any positive news should move the market to the upside.
I also like the possibility of a sharp upside move in […]

The few days preceding a major holiday have a tendency to be strong for the stock market, so pay close attention to any upside breakouts.  Trading will likely be a bit thin this week as many traders are already on vacation.  As a result, there could be a little extra volatility Monday or Tuesday, while […]

President Bush finally opened the Treasury to the auto industry today, essentially allowing the Democrats and Obama administration to deal with the problem next year.  For lending Chrysler and GM $13.4 billion now, and potentially an additional $4 billion in February, the administration required some changes in the way these companies do business, and in […]

The U.S. Dollar reversed more sharp losses on Thursday to close higher against the Yen and British Pound, and basically flat against the other major currencies.  This lead to some selling Gold and Silver.  Some economic data reported today was not quite as bad as expected, and this may have helped the Dollar recoup some […]

The stock market consolidated as traders re-assessed the Fed’s announcement after the rate cut yesterday.  Although the market averages were down today, most stocks actually closed up on the day, according to statistics provided by Worden Brothers (they produce the TC2000 software I use to scan my stocks). 
Overall, it was an uneventful day, although I […]

Today’s Fed announcement and the subsequent reaction in the stock market can only be interpreted as bullish in the near term.  Today, we got a follow through day following the December 5 and 8 rally.  This suggests that the November 21 bottom is a significant bottom and should lead to at least an intermediate sized […]

Stocks ended sharply higher today after the Fed announced it has lowered its Fed Funds Target to a range of 0-0.25% from 1.0% today.  Accompanying this announcement was a statement that the fed will be actively providing capital and purchasing mortgages, among other things, to help spur economic growth. 
Prior to the announcement, the Dow was […]

The stock market closed modestly lower today in quiet trading at the start of the Fed’s two day meeting.  Most traders and investors expect another 50 basis point cut in interest rates Tuesday at the end of the meeting, which would bring the Fed Funds rate down to 0.5%.  In the present environment, this likely […]