Written by Gary
Markets opened higher, but expected testing of yesterday’s lows has not happened breaking three-day slump. Watch for volatility, short term indicators remaining slightly bearish as markets trade on low volume.
Here is the current market situation from CNN Money | |
 | North and South American markets are mixed today. The S&P 500 is up 0.83% while the IPC gains 0.47%. The Bovespa is off 0.31%. |
The U.S. Dollar fell through its support this morning, but retreated fractionally still worrying the dollar bulls that it may fall further.
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 | 49% |
| Investors Intelligence sets the breath | Above 50 bullish | 57.2% |
| StockChart.com Overbought / Oversold Index ($NYMO) | anything below -30 / -40 is a concern of going deeper. Oversold conditions on the NYSE McClellan Oscillator usually bounce back at anything over -50 and reverse after reaching +40 oversold. | -19.32 |
| StockChart.com NYSE % of stocks above 200 DMA Index ($NYA200R) | $NYA200R chart below is the percentage of stocks above the 200 DMA and is always a good statistic to follow. It can depict a trend of declining equities which is always troubling, especially when it drops below 60% – 55%. Dropping below 40%-35% signals serious continuing weakness and falling averages. | 58.76% |
| StockChart.com NYSE Bullish Percent Index ($BPNYA) | Next stop down is ~57, then ~44, below that is where we will most likely see the markets crash. | 62.63% |
| StockChart.com S&P 500 Bullish Percent Index ($BPSPX) | In support zone and rising. ~62, ~57, ~45 at which the markets are in a full-blown correction. | 63.60% |
| StockChart.com 10 Year Treasury Note Yield Index ($TNX) | ten year note index value | 22.46 |
| 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 | 75.90 |
| StockChart.com NYSE Composite (Liquidity) Index ($NYA) | Markets move inverse to institutional selling and this NYA Index is followed by Institutional Investors | 11,181 |
What Is Moving the Markets
| Here are the headlines moving the markets. | |
| US stocks climb in midday trading as investors applaud encouraging unemployment dataU.S. financial markets climbed in midday trading Thursday following some encouraging news on the U.S. job market. Applications for unemployment aid fell last week, sending the four-week average down to its lowest level in 15 years. Investors also had their eye on the latest batch of corporate earnings and deal news. KEEPING SCORE: The Dow Jones industrial average rose 155 points, or 0.9 percent, to 18,216 as of 12:14 p.m. Eastern time. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index gained 15 points, or 0.8 percent, to 2,114. The Nasdaq composite added 48 points, or 1 percent, to 5,030. UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS: The Labor Department said that fewer people applied for unemployment aid last week, pushing the four-week average down to its lowest level since April 2000. |
| Greek Finance Minister Lashes Out at E.C.B. Chief The minister, Yanis Varoufakis, said the “soul” of the central bank’s chief, Mario Draghi, was “filled with fear” at the idea of forgiving Greek debt. |
| Wall Street spending millions to quash new fiduciary ruleLook into the data on lobbying by the financial industry and the numbers are astounding. Big stockbrokers are spending millions to sway lawmakers to see things their way. “Their way” means keeping fees high and responsibilities low. The stockbrokers would vastly prefer, for instance, to keep a potential new rule on fiduciary duty from seeing the light of day. If enacted, the rule would force brokers to disclose their conflicts of interest to clients before doing business. Their hope seems to be that by lobbying hard they can smother the proposed rule in the cradle, just like they did a few years back. |
| Global Profits: The U.S. Corporate Tax Isn’t That Weird Chris Christie said the U.S. system of worldwide corporate taxation was like North Korea’s. South Korea is a more apt comparison. |
| Egg Farmers Bear Brunt as Deadly Bird Flu Affects Hens by the Millions Avian flu viruses have affected over 33 million turkeys, chickens and ducks in the United States, with Iowa’s farmers particularly hard hit. |
| Greece offers privatization concession as Germany stays tough ATHENS (Reuters) – Greece on Thursday offered a concession to its international lenders by pushing ahead with the sale of its biggest port, Piraeus. |
| Pimco global equities CIO Maisonneuve leaving firm: statement (Reuters) – Pimco’s global equities Chief Investment Officer Virginie Maisonneuve is leaving the firm, the company said in a statement on Thursday, after a little more than a year after she was brought in to build up the firm’s equity business. |
| Dollar Nears Three-Month Low Against the EuroThe dollar tumbled to its lowest level against the euro in almost thee months, dragged down by another bout of downbeat U.S. data. |
| U.S. capital spending seen falling to four-year low in 2015 NEW YORK (Reuters) – U.S. corporate spending on capital projects could fall this year to the lowest level since 2011, with steep reductions by the energy industry and companies in other sectors cutting spending amid broad concerns about global growth. |
| Expiring Brent up in choppy trade, U.S. crude down on supply glut NEW YORK (Reuters) – Brent crude futures edged up in choppy trading as the June contract headed to expiration on Thursday, while U.S. crude prices pulled back as an ample global supply picture weighed on sentiment. |
| U.S. labor market tightening; inflation still muted WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits fell last week to near a 15-year low, indicating the jobs market was on solid footing even as the economy struggles to regain momentum after abruptly slowing in the first quarter. |
| Wall St. rises as jobless claims fall, dollar weakens (Reuters) – U.S. stocks rose on Thursday as weekly jobless claims fell and the dollar slid to its lowest in nearly four months. |
| GM wins dismissal of UAW retiree benefit suit appeal (Reuters) – A U.S. appeals court on Thursday upheld the dismissal of a lawsuit by the United Auto Workers union claiming that General Motors Co was required to pay $450 million to cover medical benefits for an affiliate’s retirees. |
| Another Train Derails In Pennsylvania, 10 Cars Off Track Near Pittsburgh – Live FeedFor the second time in a week, amid ongoing discussions on infrastructure spending, a train has derailed in Pennsylvania. As CBS Pittsburgh reports, emergency crews have been called to a freight train derailment in Hazelwood. At least 10 cars are off the track but no injuries have been reported yet.
* * * Live Feed (click image for WPXI feed)
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| ‘Flash Crash’ Trader Accused Rivals of MisconductNavinder Singh Sarao, the trader arrested on U.S. charges he manipulated futures prices and contributed to the May 2010 “flash crash,” leveled claims of similar misconduct against other traders. |
| Honda adds to Takata air bag recalls; global tally now around 36 million TOKYO (Reuters) – Honda Motor Co on Thursday recalled close to 5 million vehicles fitted with potentially faulty Takata Corp air bag inflators, as investigations showed the problem behind one of the biggest auto safety crises may be more widespread than thought. |
| Shale-Oil Producers Ready to Raise OutputAfter slashing production for months, U.S. shale-oil companies say they may bring rigs back into service. |
| Credit cards bolster Citigroup in UAE, Bahrain and Poland DUBAI (Reuters) – The United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Poland have emerged as Citigroup’s top consumer markets in the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region, a senior executive told Reuters, as the bank focuses on growth areas. |
| Greece’s Varoufakis says debt swap fills Draghi’s ‘soul with fear’ ATHENS (Reuters) – Repayment of what Greece owes to the European Central Bank should be pushed into the future, but it is not an option because it fills ECB chief Mario Draghi’s “soul with fear”, Greece’s finance minister said on Thursday. |
| Consumer Comfort Tumbles For Longest Streak In 18 MonthsConfirming Gallup’s demise of the confidence of the consumer, Bloomberg’s non-government-sanctioned Consumer Comfort index has now fallen for the 5th straight week – the longest streak of uncomfortableness since Nov 2013. The index is barely above unchanged for 2015 with people in The South and NorthEast feeling the misery the most in the last week (and rather oddly, only the 65+ age cohort saw an improvement – rising rates?).
Charts: Bloomberg |
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