Written by Gary
U.S. business investment spending plans fell for a sixth straight month in February, likely weighed down by a strong dollar and weak global demand, which could lead economists to further lower their first-quarter growth estimates.
Also, Brent oil prices rose on today as the euro strengthened against the dollar following a boost in business morale in the euro zone’s top two economies.
Durable goods new orders declined. Our analysis is agrees. The three month rolling averages continue to decelerate (and is showing almost no year-over-year growth). Unfilled orders continues to shrink.
The Markets are expected to decline further in today’s session.
Here is the current market situation from CNN Money | |
 | North and South American markets are mixed. The Bovespa is higher by 0.03%, while the IPC is leading the S&P 500 lower. They are down 0.41% and 0.25% respectively. |
Traders Corner – Health of the Market
| Index | Description | Current Value |
| Investors.com Members Sentiment: | % Bullish (the balance is Bearish) | 64 |
| CNN’s Fear & Greed Index | Above 50 = greed, below 50 = fear | 46 |
| Investors Intelligence sets the breath | Above 50 bullish | 58.8 |
| StockChart.com Overbought / Oversold Index ($NYMO) | anything below -30 / -40 is a concern of going deeper. Oversold conditions on the NYSE McClellan Oscillator usually bounce back at anything over -50 and reverse after reaching +40 oversold. | 58.8 |
| StockChart.com NYSE % of stocks above 200 DMA Index ($NYA200R) | $NYA200R chart below is the percentage of stocks above the 200 DMA and is always a good statistic to follow. It can depict a trend of declining equities which is always troubling, especially when it drops below 60% – 55%. Dropping below 40%-35% signals serious continuing weakness and falling averages. | +13.461 |
| StockChart.com NYSE Bullish Percent Index ($BPNYA) | Next stop down is ~57, then ~44, below that is where we will most likely see the markets crash. | 62.83% |
| StockChart.com S&P 500 Bullish Percent Index ($BPSPX) | In support zone and rising. ~62, ~57, ~45 at which the markets are in a full-blown correction. | 72.40% |
| StockChart.com 10 Year Treasury Note Yield Index ($TNX) | ten year note index value | 18.90 |
| StockChart.com Consumer Discretionary ETF (XLY) | As long as the consumer discretionary holds above [66.88], all things being equal, it is a good sign for stocks and the U.S. economy | 76.00 |
| StockChart.com NYSE Composite (Liquidity) Index ($NYA) | Markets move inverse to institutional selling and this NYA Index is followed by Institutional Investors | 11,024 |
What Is Moving the Markets
| Here are the headlines moving the markets. | |
| Fed’s Evans says strong dollar ‘disinflationary’, possibly transitory LONDON (Reuters) – Chicago Federal Reserve President Charles Evans said on Wednesday he was concerned the strong dollar’s “clear disinflationary pressure” could get embedded in expectations. |
| Wall St. Is Down Amid Merger News Heinz announced it would buy Kraft Foods Group, creating one of the largest food and beverage makers in the world. |
| HarperCollins Releases Cover for New Harper Lee Novel The cover of “Go Set a Watchman,” featuring a dark tree and a train, was designed by Jarrod Taylor. |
| Gadgetwise: Selfie Sticks and Other Selfie Gear Go Mainstream The tool for smartphone photography is easily found online; some work with a camera’s timer, others with cables or Bluetooth. |
| Wall Street rises at open after M&A news (Reuters) – U.S. stocks opened higher on Wednesday despite weak industrial orders data, after a merger agreement between Kraft Foods and Heinz Co. |
| Kraft and Heinz to form North America’s No.3 food company (Reuters) – Kraft Foods Group Inc, the maker of Velveeta cheese, will merge with ketchup maker H.J. Heinz Co, owned by 3G Capital and Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc, to form North America’s third-largest food and beverage company. |
| Kraft and Heinz to Merge in Deal Backed by Buffett and 3G Capital The merger will create the fifth-largest food and beverage company globally, with Heinz controlling 51 percent and Kraft shareholders owning the rest. |
| Pirelli does not plan special dividend for ChemChina deal: sources MILAN (Reuters) – Italian tire maker Pirelli , which is being bought by China National Chemical Corp (ChemChina), does not plan to pay a special dividend to its shareholders as part of the buyout deal, two sources with direct knowledge of the matter said. |
| Weak U.S. business spending data points to first-quarter growth slowdown WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. business investment spending plans fell for a sixth straight month in February, likely weighed down by a strong dollar and weak global demand, which could lead economists to further lower their first-quarter growth estimates. |
| US Durable Goods Orders Fell 1.4 Percent in February Orders to U.S. factories for long-lasting manufactured goods fell in February for the third time in the past four months, while a key investment category fell for a sixth month. |
| Ford recalls over 220,000 vehicles in North America for three issues DETROIT (Reuters) – Ford Motor Co said on Wednesday it is recalling more than 220,000 vehicles in North America for potential issues with door handles, vacuum pump relays and sensors. |
| Brent oil rises as euro gains against dollar LONDON (Reuters) – Brent oil prices rose on Wednesday as the euro strengthened against the dollar following a boost in business morale in the euro zone’s top two economies. |
| Durable Goods Now In Contraction Year-to-Date in February 2015Written by Steven Hansen The headlines say the durable goods new orders declined. Our analysis is agrees. The three month rolling averages continue to decelerate (and is showing almost no year-over-year growth). Unfilled orders continues to shrink. The year-to-date new orders are in contraction relative to 2014. |
| Small Business: Tono Studios Helps Marketers Reach Hispanics With Culturally Authentic Ads A commercial audio company is making a name for itself by focusing on cultural nuances to create messages that resonate with Hispanics. |
| Australia ready to join China-led bank, seeks clarity on governance SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australia is “well and truly” disposed to join the China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), Prime Minister Tony Abbott said on Wednesday, but wants to know how much power Beijing would hold in the institution before a formal decision. |
| U.S. mortgage applications rise in latest week: MBA NEW YORK (Reuters) – Applications for U.S. home mortgages rose last week as interest rates dropped to their lowest level since February, an industry group said on Wednesday. |
| Wednesday 3/25 Insider Buying Report: BDJBargain hunters are wise to pay careful attention to insider buying, because although there are many various reasons for an insider to sell a stock, presumably the only reason they would use their hard-earned dollars to make a purchase, is that they expect to make money. Today we look at one noteworthy recent insider buy. |
| S&P 500 Movers: NVDA, KRFTIn early trading on Wednesday, shares of Kraft Foods Group (KRFT) topped the list of the day’s best performing components of the S&P 500 index, trading up 32.3%. Year to date, Kraft Foods Group registers a 29.5% gain. |
| Dow Movers: MSFT, MRKIn early trading on Wednesday, shares of Merck & Co. (MRK) topped the list of the day’s best performing Dow Jones Industrial Average components, trading up 1.0%. Year to date, Merck & Co. registers a 4.3% gain. |
| Nasdaq 100 Movers: NVDA, KRFTIn early trading on Wednesday, shares of Kraft Foods Group (KRFT) topped the list of the day’s best performing components of the Nasdaq 100 index, trading up 32.3%. Year to date, Kraft Foods Group registers a 29.4% gain. |
| Earnings Expected to Increase for GameStopOptimism surrounds GameStop, as it gets ready to report its fourth quarter results on Thursday, March 26, 2015. Analysts are expecting the company to book a profit of $2.17 a share, up from $1.90 a year ago.The consensus estimate has risen over the past month, from $2.16, but it’s below |
| ConAgra Foods Shows EPS Estimates Down In Past MonthExpectations have dropped for ConAgra Foods’ third quarter results in the month leading up to the company’s earnings announcement slated for Thursday, March 26, 2015. The consensus analyst estimate has dropped from 55 cents a share to the current estimate of earnings of 53 cents a share.Over the past three |
| Forbes Earnings Preview: AccentureAccenture reports its second-quarter earnings on Thursday, March 26, 2015, and the consensus earnings per share estimate is $1.07 per share.For the fiscal year, analysts are expecting earnings of $4.75 per share. Analysts project revenue to fall 2% year-over-year to $7.38 billion for the quarter, after being $7.57 billion a |
| Europe’s Groundhog Day: Can the E.U. Break Out of 2011?No investor or lawmaker would want to relive the turmoil that faced the U.S. economy in 2011, when uncertainty over the Federal Reserve’s “QE2” program and the political standoff over the government’s debt ceiling brought stomach-churning levels of volatility to the capital markets and threatened to undermine the still-fragile recovery. |
| European shares dip but hold near highs after Ifo LONDON (Reuters) – European shares dipped on Wednesday but held near multi-year highs and the euro rose against the dollar after a survey showed the German business climate improving. |
| The New #12 Most Shorted Dow Component: BoeingThe most recent short interest data has been released by the NASDAQ for the 03/13/2015 settlement date, and we here at Dividend Channel like to sift through this fresh data and order the underlying components of the Dow Jones Industrial Average by “days to cover.” There are a number of ways to look at short data, for example the total number of shares short; but one metric that we find particularly useful is the “days to cover” metric because it considers both the total shares short and the average daily volume of shares typically traded. The number of shares short is then compared to the average daily volume, in order to calculate the total number of trading days it would take to close out all of the open short positions if every share traded represented a short position being closed. |
| Travelers Companies Becomes #5 Most Shorted Dow Stock, Replacing PfizerThe most recent short interest data has been released by the NASDAQ for the 03/13/2015 settlement date, and we here at Dividend Channel like to sift through this fresh data and order the underlying components of the Dow Jones Industrial Average by “days to cover.” There are a number of ways to look at short data, for example the total number of shares short; but one metric that we find particularly useful is the “days to cover” metric because it considers both the total shares short and the average daily volume of shares typically traded. The number of shares short is then compared to the average daily volume, in order to calculate the total number of trading days it would take to close out all of the open short positions if every share traded represented a short position being closed. |
| Verizon Communications Becomes #1 Most Shorted Dow Stock, Replacing AT&TThe most recent short interest data has been released by the NASDAQ for the 03/13/2015 settlement date, and we here at Dividend Channel like to sift through this fresh data and order the underlying components of the Dow Jones Industrial Average by “days to cover.” There are a number of ways to look at short data, for example the total number of shares short; but one metric that we find particularly useful is the “days to cover” metric because it considers both the total shares short and the average daily volume of shares typically traded. The number of shares short is then compared to the average daily volume, in order to calculate the total number of trading days it would take to close out all of the open short positions if every share traded represented a short position being closed. |
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