Others   

Dow

Hope the two Fed pple make some positive remarks in one hour time .... they could boost the current badly bashed-up DOWN markets.

 

Dow now down 37 points.




NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Stocks slipped Monday morning, led by technology shares, as investors eyed discouraging news out of Dell, Intel and Hewlett Packard, and opted to back out of equities.

The Nasdaq composite (down 10.54 to 2,155.25, Charts) lost nearly 0.4 percent more than 50 minutes into the session. The Dow Jones industrial average (down 14.32 to 11,377.79, Charts) and the broader Standard & Poor's 500 (down 4.44 to 1,294.48, Charts) index both saw smaller declines.

 

 

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) - U.S. stocks fell Monday on this the fifth anniversary of the Sept. 11. 2001 terror attacks, with declines in overseas markets, a delayed earnings filing by Dell and a broker downgrade of Bank of America further weighing on sentiment.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was off 17 points at 11,375.

The Nasdsaq Composite Index fell 13 points to 2,152 while the S&P 500 Index dropped 4 points to 1,295.

For Marc Pado, U.S. market strategist at Cantor Fitzgerald, overseas weakness is hurting U.S. stocks even as oil prices take a fresh dive. Check Europe markets and Asia markets.

Pado said the August consumer price report on Friday will be a major focus for a market worried about inflation.

"Earnings releases from several major brokerage houses this week will also give investors a hint as to how the investment community sees growth for financial stocks." See Earnings Outlook.

The New York Stock Exchange observed a minute of silence at 9.29 a.m. Eastern in remembrance of the events of September 11 2001. The Nasdaq has asked traders to refrain from trading for a moment of silence between 10.29 a.m. and 10.30 a.m. Eastern.

Although there are economic reports of note due Monday, a number of Federal Reserve officials are offering their views on the economy, and traders will be hoping to garner some clues on the outlook for interest rates. The Federal Reserve meets on September 20 to discuss interest rates. Its fed-funds rate currently stands at 5.25%.

Boston Federal Reserve Bank President Cathy Minehan was first off the blocks. Minehan said U.S economy will likely slow, helping to bring down core inflation. But she warned growth could slow too much if housing prices actually decline. See full story.

Fed Vice Chairman Donald Kohn addresses the Western Payments Alliance 2006 Payments Symposium, in Las Vegas at 11.45 a.m Eastern while St. Louis Fed President William Poole speaks at the National Association for Business Economics conference, in Boston at 11.45 a.m. Eastern. See Washington Calendar.

 

Dow and Nasdasq opened down on 5th aniversary of 9/11 .... - 25 points and - 4 points respectively now. 

Think US markets will finish GREEN at the end of the day as a respect for those who died that fateful day .... And to show the terrorists that we can still be positive despite their cowardly terror acts!

 

Now investors can turn their efforts to the notorious trends of Sep. Self-fulfilling or seasonality? That is the question. Few notions have been more touted of late than the seasonality effect of September. Yes, it is true that while Oct is known for its massive drawdowns and rallies from the depths, Sep has a reputation as the worst month for investor returns.



And why not? A quick look at the data shows that since 1970, the S&P returned an average of -1% during Sep, the only month to have an average return in the red. Since 1970, Sep has yielded a negative S&P 60% of the time.



What's amazing is that the stats remain poor no matter how you slice the time period. For example, since 1990, the S&P has spent 56% of Seps in the red for an average "Sep return" that is barely below 0. Slice it thinner to results since 2000, and 2/3 of the Sep returns are negative, with an average of -4%.



In other words, this seasonal pattern is one that investors should definitely heed. But there may be a flip side. If Sep starts out on a roll and continues upwards (and last week was a good start), this pervasive pessimism could quickly unwind into buying.



Consider the combination of the sentiment conundrum and Sep seasonality enough to be wary of the current market environment. While there has been some room for the market to move higher over the past few weeks, the game is likely to get a little tougher.



The group think of Wall Street is less likely to defend the current market given the well-publicized Sep seasonality and more likely to dump stocks that have provided some short-term gains. Consider a break of the S&P's 20-day moving average a warning of this short-term weakness.

 

After a sleepy start to September, Wall Street is set to pick up the pace this week.



Reports are due on the trade balance, import and export prices, manufacturing, consumer sentiment, and most notably - retail sales and consumer prices.



A few quarterly earnings reports even trickle this week, with Wall Street brokerages including Goldman Sachs and Bear Stearns due to release results. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial expect third-quarter earnings will jump about 14.4% yoy, but the first big batch of results won't start pouring for a month.



A number of Fed officials speak this week as well, including two voting members of the central bank's policy-making arm: Vice chairman Donald Kohn and San Francisco Fed president Janet Yellen on Tuesday.



Last week, Yellen made comments to the effect that the Fed may need to restart its recently paused interest rate-hiking campaign because of stubbornly high inflationary pressures. That didn't thrill investors and pressured stocks.



Although few economists expect the central bank to lift rates at the Sept. 20 policy meeting, there is the risk of more rate hikes before the end of the year, especially if inflation doesn't cool off.



The news week is also notable since Monday marks the five-year anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks.



Beware September



Last week's choppiness was partly seasonal, with investors skittish at the start of September, typically the worst month of the year on Wall Street.



The negative seasonal pull is likely to continue, analysts say, unless the economic news should prove particularly supportive.



The fact that the stock market clocked in an unusually strong August means September could be extra tough this year. The Nasdaq composite rose 4.5% in the month, the Dow added 1.8% and the S&P 500 index added 2.2%.



"You have to keep in mind that most of the rally we saw last month was on spotty volume, with most of the big players paying more attention to beach balls than ticker symbols," said Jack Ablin, chief investment officer at Harris Private Bank.



But now, the big guys are back. Typically, September brings house cleaning, with money managers shedding losers before the end of the quarter. The end of September is also the end of the fiscal year for many mutual funds.



"Going forward, I think there is more vulnerability," Ablin added.



But some investors saw it another way.



The seasonality factors are so well known by investors at this point, said Todd Salamone, director of trading at Schaeffer's Investment Research, that weakness in the month can become a self-fulfilling prophecy. But the anticipation of a weak period can also reduce the likelihood or the intensity of any fall selloff, he added.



"We're vulnerable right now with respect to the fact that the market is trading near the top of the recent range, but we're less vulnerable than we were maybe a year ago," Salamone said. "The underlying sentiment seems to be a little better, at least for now."

 

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Trading of U.S. stocks could be choppy next week, as the market looks toward fresh consumer-focused economic and inflation reports as part of its ongoing effort to determine the outlook for growth and interest rates.

"We continue to see pressure in the overall stock market," said Mark Arbeter, chief technical analyst at Standard & Poor's. "The underpinnings of the bull market are starting to disappear and the leadership groups including energy, commodities, transportation and small-cap stocks continue to weaken."

New government figures on retail sales and consumer-price inflation for August due Thursday and Friday will be highlights.

"The focus is really on the consumer" next week, said Jeffrey Kleintop, chief investment strategist at PNC Advisors.

"The market has been concerned about slowing consumer spending and an increase in inflation," said Todd Clark, director of trading at Nollenberger Capital Partners in San Francisco. "So both of [the reports] are going to be right on the pulse of what the market has been trading off of recently."

 

Next Week IMF week, and since it is held in sg, I believe that market will be in "Green mode". STI stocks should be a good trading take.. further supported by crude oil trading at 4 months low... :)

 

Thanks clownfish75!

STI should be bullish next week.

 

Wall Street strikes back !!!!
Stocks rally after two tough sessions as investors take their lead from comments by Fed official and a drop in the price of crude.
By David Ellis and Alexandra Twin, CNNMoney.com staff writers
September 8 2006: 5:53 PM EDT


NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Stocks rallied Friday at the end of a choppy week on Wall Street, as investors welcomed falling oil prices and soothing comments from a Federal Reserve official regarding inflation and interest rates.

DOW UP 60.67
NASDAQ UP 10.50
DOW FUTURE UP 32
NASDAQ FUTURE UP 2.75
MY OPINION THAT STI MAY CONTINUE IT BULLISH TO 2550 LEVEL NEXT WEEK

 

Reassuring comments from Cleveland Federal Reserve President Sandra Pianalto about inflation. She said she is concerned about inflation, but that economic activity is moderating. She added that the stability of inflation expectations was another element in her support of the Fed's holding rates steady last month.

 

 

Lennar Corp.'s announced that it was lowering its third-quarter profit forecast, joining several of its rival homebuilders in pointing to lackluster demand in a slowing housing market. This provides mounting evidence of a slowing housing sector and may leave Wall Street unnerved at the prospect of a sharp economic slowdown.

 

Dow now up 36 points!

 

US markets GREEN, but almost flat. Volume is low. Boring ....

Next week should be interesting with the following economic data coming out:

Sept. 12	Trade balance	July
Sept. 13	Treasury budget	August
Sept. 14	Business inventories	July
Sept. 14	Import prices excluding oil	August
Sept. 14	Export prices excluding agriculture	August
Sept. 14	Retail sales	August
Sept. 14	Retail sales ex. auto	August
Sept. 15	Consumer price index	August
Sept. 15	CPI ex. food and energy	August
Sept. 15	NY empire state index	September
Sept. 15	Capacity utilization	August
Sept. 15	Industrial production	August
Sept. 15	Consumer sentiment	September

 

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stocks are set to open at higher levels Friday, as the market tries to throw off a two-session losing streak and investors await a speech by a Federal Reserve official that could provide clues about the central bank's leanings on rate increases.

The slowdown in the housing market remains in focus, following a profit warning from Lennar Corp., the latest in a string of prominent home builders to reduce earnings expectations this week.

The futures contract for the Dow Jones Industrial Average last was up 11 points at 11,450.

Futures contracts for the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq 100 were up 2.3 points at 1,309.70 and up 2.8 points at 1,589.5. .

On Thursday stocks ended lower, after San Francisco Federal Reserve President Janet Yellen said the central bank's rate bias must remain toward tightening, given inflation risks. Yellen's remark startled investors because it is somewhat unusual for her to speak aggressively about inflation and rates.

Cleveland Federal Reserve President Sandra Pianalto, a voting member of the Fed's Open Market Committee, is scheduled to speak Friday.

Her speech will be of interest because she also will address inflation and monetary policy.

"The market now is scrutinizing every Fed speaker's words," said Peter Cardillo, chief market strategist at S.W. Bach. "Obviously any further negative words on inflation and rates could move the market."

"It's a Friday and I don't expect volume to be much," he said. "We might see some sideways, mixed trading."

The consumer credit report for July, the only economic news of the day, arrives at 3 p.m. and may not be too influential. The MarketWatch forecast, based on a poll of economists, is that $5.6 billion in new credit was taken out, which would be a decrease from $10.3 billion in June.

 

Wednesday's action was the first distribution day since the August 15th follow through day. There has been nothing normal about the recent rally. In fact, I believe it has been a "less than meets the eye" rally. The dirty little secret is that the Dow and S&P have masked very poor action in many important areas of the market. The RAILS have not budged. The TRUCKERS have not budged. BIOTECHS have not budged. The AIR FREIGHTS have not budged. The RETAILERS have not budged. HOUSING is now breaking new lows. The DISK DRIVES hardly budged and are now gagging badly. The BROKERS have lagged. The LENDERS are acting like the RED SOX. COMMODITY stocks have just stayed in range...and most importantly, the SMALL CAP and MID CAP INDICES have lagged badly. All this while the Dow and S&P were close to cycle highs. In other words, this a narrowly focused rally and not a broad-based one.



If TECHNOLOGY and more specifically, the SOX (semicon) tops, that would be bad. The SEMIS are vital to the health of the market and they may have just put in the high of this latest move. One day is just one day...but in the context of the past few months, it may just be an important day.



OIL prices continue to head lower and OIL STOCKS are now plunging. This now includes some of the bigger cap names like COP, MRO, OXY and XOM. Normally, falling oil prices lead to a higher Wall Street. But not so now. 



WORLD MARKETS may have also just topped. This has to be watched closely because WORLD MARKETS joining in to any downside would be a confirming negative.



SHIPPERS have now topped also. This group has been acting well for the better part of 3 months.



Sep could be lousy. Trade with caution!

 

I just pray hard Osama doesnt sents his die-hard fans crashing into something again....

 

The US housing bubble has starting to burst and it will surely affect the US economy from now onwards. Trade with care. be prepared for sharp downturn.