Its the Fed effect ....... A rate pause for me on 20th September. Then the market will tumble down when they realise that the pause is due to INFLATION! What a funny world ...
Despite the month of August being earmarked as the worst month for the S&P 500 over the last 15 years, according to The Stock Traders Almanac, this August so far is shaping up to be quite a surprising victory for the bulls as stocks closed higher for a fourth straight day. Month to date, the Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq are up 1.3%, 1.6% and 3.2%, respectively.
Oil touch below us$71/barrel and Dow is up +25 points tonite. All indicating tomorro sti another more green then red, guess sti can hit 2,478 (+8 points).
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) - U.S. stocks rose for a fourth day Thursday on a strong earnings report from Hewlett-Packard and fresh data that reinforced the view that the Federal Reserve is unlikely to raise interest rates at its September meeting.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 16 points at 11,343. Of the 30 Dow stocks, 14 contributed to gains. Check performance of Dow stocks.
The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 5 points to 2,153 while the S&P 500 Index put in a fractional gain, up 0.21 point at 1,295.66.
"It's been a great week so far, driven by inflation-friendly data," said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at Jefferies & Co. "What happens in a market that has had a couple of significant upside days is that you have to rationalize the gains."
But the market should find support in lower energy prices and strong Hewlett-Packard earnings. "The market has more good news than bad news," said Hogan. "Unfortunately, a lot of the good news is already priced in."
Even as oil dips below $71, U.S. markets may be ready to consolidate after three days of gains.
August 17 2006: 8:26 AM EDT
NEW
YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Despite oil prices below $71 a barrel for the
first time in months and strong results from a tech bellwether, stocks
may be ready to sell off Thursday after a three-day rally.
At 8:25 a.m. ET, Nasdaq and S&P futures pointed to a flat to lower open for the major indexes.
Oil was sharply lower as the cease-fire
was holding in Lebanon, calming geopolitical concerns in that crucial
region. U.S. light crude down $1.17 to $70.72 a barrel in electronic
trading. Brent crude in London was $1.15 lower at $71.68.
After the close Wednesday, Hewlett Packard (Charts) reported better than expected earnings
and announced plans for a $6 billion share repurchase. Shares of the
Dow component gained $2.11, or 6.1 percent, in after-hours trading
following the report.
After the close Thursday, HP competitor Dell (Charts) is due to report results. Unlike the gains at HP, Dell warned
last month that it would report lower earnings in the quarter, as it
blamed aggressive pricing in a slowing commercial market worldwide.
Investors will be looking for new guidance and details about its costly
recall of laptop batteries announced this week.
Shares of Dell slipped 3 cents in after-hours trading following the HP report.
Earnings are due from retailers Sears Holdings (Charts) before the market open and Gap (Charts) and Nordstrom (Charts)
after the market close Thursday. Sears and Nordstrom are expected to
report healthy earnings gains of more than 20 percent, but profit is
expected to drop by more than half at Gap.
Treasury prices rose, with the 10-year note yield down to 4.85 percent from 4.86 percent late Wednesday. The dollar was lower against the euro and the yen.
Major stock indexes in Asia closed mixed in Thursday trading, while stocks also were mixed in early trading in Europe.
In corporate news, shares of General Motors (Charts)
were lower in Frankfurt trading Thursday. The company's No. 2
shareholder, Capital Research & Management, disclosed after
Wednesday's close that it had sold 24 percent of its GM stake during
the second quarter, while the company's No. 3 shareholder, Brandes
Investment Partners, trimmed its GM stake by 4 percent in the period.
GM was in talks
into the night Wednesday with the United Auto Workers and bankrupt auto
parts maker Delphi as it sought to reach a labor deal to avoid a
potentially crippling strike at Delphi.
Delphi is due to appear
in bankruptcy court Thursday afternoon to ask for a judge to void its
labor contracts if a deal is not reached.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 96.86 points to 11,327.12. The benchmark index closed at its best level since May 16. Of the 30 components, 25 contributed to gains. Check performance of Dow stocks.
The Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 34.53 points to 2,149.54.
The S&P 500 Index was up 9.85 points at 1,295.43. The broad gauge ended at its best level since May 11.
For a second session, technology stocks have paced the advance. Since the start of the year, the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite index is down around 2.5%. In contrast, the Dow is up about 5.5% while the S&P 500 has gained nearly 4%.
Investors cheered retail inflation data showing a smaller-than-expected rise in core prices, excluding volatile food and energy costs.
July core consumer prices rose 0.2%, breaking a string of four consecutive 0.3% monthly gains. Economists polled by MarketWatch had projected another 0.3% rise.
Major gauges extend previous session's advance on bets that lower inflation means the Fed can keep rates steady.
August 16 2006: 9:57 AM EDT
NEW
YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Stocks jumped Tuesday morning after a mild
report on core consumer prices in July added to bets that inflation is
slowing enough for the Federal Reserve to keep interest rates steady.
The Dow Jones industrial average (up 36.50 to 11,266.76, Charts), the broader Standard & Poor's 500 (up 5.03 to 1,290.61, Charts) index and the Nasdaq composite (up 12.30 to 2,127.31, Charts) all gained in the early going.
All three major
gauges surged Tuesday, with the Nasdaq scoring its third best day of
the year on a point and percentage basis. The advance followed a report
showing that core wholesale inflation had fallen in July, while overall
wholesale inflation rose less than expected.
That mild report
sent stocks higher and bonds lower as investors bet that the Fed won't
have to restart its recently-paused interest rate hike. Such bets
intensified Wednesday after the release of the Consumer Price index (CPI).
Core
CPI rose 0.2 percent in July, the government said Wednesday morning.
Economists surveyed by Briefing.com thought it would rise 0.3 percent,
as it did in June.
Overall CPI rose 0.4 percent in July, in line with estimates and following a rise of 0.2 percent in June.
Separate
data showed that the economy continues to moderate, including reports
on July housing starts and building permits. Another report showed that
industrial production was weaker in July, while capacity utilization
was little changed.
Among stock movers, Abercrombie & Fitch (up $3.91 to $59.43, Charts)
climbed almost 10 percent after reporting quarterly earnings and
revenue late Tuesday that rose from a year ago and beat estimates. The
clothing retailer also issued earnings guidance for fiscal-year 2007
that is higher than analysts' estimates.
Applied Materials (down $0.23 to $15.46, Charts)
slipped around 2 percent. Late Tuesday, the chip gear maker reported
quarterly earnings and revenue that rose from a year ago and beat
estimates. However, the company was more cautious on the current
quarter, saying higher chip inventories would hurt demand.
U.S. light crude for September delivery retreated 31 cents to $72.74 a barrel in electronic trading.
Treasury
prices jumped, lowering the yield on the 10-year note to 4.88 percent
from 4.93 percent late Monday. Treasury prices and yields move in
opposite directions.
The futures contract for the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 52 points at 11,300.
Futures contracts for the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq 100 were up 6.70 points at 1,294.40 and up 13.5 points at 1,554.
On Tuesday stocks ended higher, with the S&P 500 at its best level in 2 and a half months, after a tame producer-level inflation report that also allayed fears of further interest rate hikes to come.
Inflation was back in focus on Wednesday after the Labor Department said that in July core consumer prices rose 0.2%, breaking a string of four consecutive 0.3% monthly gains. Economists polled by MarketWatch had projected another 0.3% rise.
However, core prices have risen 2.7% in the past year, the highest since late 2001. Core figures strip out volatile food and energy prices.
Soaring energy costs pushed the total CPI up 0.4% in July, as expected by economists surveyed by MarketWatch
The Federal Reserve weighs the impact of core inflation on consumers in making monetary policy decisions. The news of slowing core inflation takes some of the pressure off the Fed to continue lifting rates.
The Nasdaq Composite posted its best one-day point gain in more than six weeks to end at a one-month high, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average rallied triple digits to put in its biggest one-day point rise in more than three weeks.
The Dow industrials rose 132.39 points, or 1.2% to 11,230.26. The last time the benchmark index registered a bigger point gain was on July 24, when it rose 183 points. Of the 30 Dow-component stocks, 28 contributed to gains.
The Nasdaq Composite Index moved up 45.97 points, or 2.2% to 2,115.01. It marks the best one-day point rise for the tech-rich index since June 29, when it shot up 63 points.
The S&P 500 Index climbed 17.37 points to 1,285.58; the broad gauge closed at its highest level since June 2.
"The PPI is overwhelming any concerns in the economy," said Jim Awad, chairman of Awad Asset Management. "It reinforces, for the moment, the notion that the Fed is not going to be a problem."
The Labor Department said the producer price index rose 0.1% in July, below the 0.3% gain expected, and the core PPI -- which excludes food and energy prices -- fell 0.3%, marking the first decline since October. Economists had expected the core rate to have risen 0.2% last month. See full story.
Fed policymakers watch the core intermediate PPI carefully for signs that firms are facing stronger inflationary pressures, but the Fed is most focused on the prices that consumers pay. The July consumer-price report will be released on Wednesday.
Last week, the Fed decided not to raise interest rates for the first time in more than two years. The move was seen as giving policy makers time to see whether they have raised interest rates enough to cool inflationary pressures or whether they have put growth at risk by raising rates too much. The fed-funds rate currently stands at 5.25%. See full story.
U.S. stocks set to open higher Tuesday (Sin-tonite) as investors await the wholesale price readings for July.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Investors appeared none-too-concerned about the July producer price report due Tuesday morning, as futures indicated a higher start for the major U.S. indexes.
At 5:30 a.m. ET, S&P futures were slightly higher and Nasdaq futures were a little stronger.
Oil was lower as the Israel-Hezbollah cease-fire entered its 2nd day. US light crude eased 48 cents to $73.05/barrel in electronic trading
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