Written by Gary
Markets closed mixed with the DOW down 23 points and SPY up 0.03 cents. Major markets traded mostly in a narrow zone near the unchanged line as investors looked for fresh reasons to buy stocks following two straight days of gains. Bit gains in utilities and telecoms were offset by losses in materials and financials sectors.
Todays S&P 500 Chart
At the close
Dow -0.14% to 17,826.95. S&P -0.02% to 2,090.05. Nasdaq +0.14% to 4,901.69.
Treasurys: 30-year +0.37%. 10-yr +0.3%. 5-yr +0.21%.
Commodities: Crude -0.46% to $49.33. Gold -0.29% to $1,220.25.
Currencies: Euro +0.32% vs. dollar. Yen -0.41%. Pound +0.25%.
U.S. STOCK INDEXES
The Dow posted an inside day with a lower close on Thursday as it consolidated some of this week’s rally. The low-range close sets the stage for a steady to lower opening when Friday’s night session begins trading. Stochastics and the RSI are neutral to bullish signaling that sideways to higher prices are possible near-term. Closes above the reaction high crossing at 17,934.61 are needed to confirm that a short-term low has been posted.
If the Dow resumes the decline off April’s high, the 38% retracement level of the January-April-rally crossing at 17,136.23 is the next downside target. First resistance is the reaction high crossing at 17,934.61. Second resistance is April’s high crossing at 18,160.57. First support is last Thursday’s low crossing at 17,331.07. Second support is the 38% retracement level of the January-April-rally crossing at 17,136.23.
The Market in Perspective
| Here are the headlines moving the markets. | |
 | Wall St. pauses after two-day runNEW YORK (Reuters) – Wall Street treaded water on Thursday following two days of strong gains as advancing defensive sectors offset declines in materials, banks and other cyclical industries. |
| U.S. business spending mired in weakness, but economy picking upWASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. business spending intentions weakened in April for a third straight month amid soft demand for machinery, but a surge in contracts to purchase previously owned homes to a 10-year high supported views economic growth was gaining speed. |
| U.S. rates may rise ‘fairly soon,’ Brexit a concern: Fed’s PowellWASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Federal Reserve on Thursday continued to lay the groundwork for an interest rate increase in the next two months, with a senior policymaker saying the economy will likely be ready for such a move “fairly soon.” |
| U.S. Virgin Islands sues Takata, Honda over airbags(Reuters) – The U.S. Virgin Islands sued Takata Corp and Honda Motor Co late on Wednesday over the sale of millions of recalled airbags linked to deadly ruptures. |
| SEC probes Alibaba accounting methods, shares dive(Reuters) – U.S. regulators are investigating Alibaba Group Holding Ltd’s accounting practices to determine whether they violated federal laws, the Chinese e-commerce giant said, sending its shares tumbling nearly 7 percent on Wednesday. |
| McDonald’s CEO says $15 hourly wage, robots won’t kill jobsOAK BROOK, Ill./LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – U.S. restaurant operators would probably not replace workers with robots if they had to pay the $15 hourly wage demanded by protesters, McDonald’s Corp Chief Executive Officer Steve Easterbrook told shareholders at the company’s annual meeting on Thursday. |
| Cartel or talking shop? OPEC awaits Saudi rulingDUBAI/LONDON (Reuters) – For those seeking guidance on Saudi Arabia’s thinking regarding the future of OPEC, the last few weeks’ agenda of the new Saudi energy minister, Khalid al-Falih, might offer a few clues. |
| Viacom CEO Dauman seeks trial by end-Sept over Redstone trust(Reuters) – Viacom Inc Chief Executive Officer Philippe Dauman has asked a Massachusetts court to expedite a legal challenge to his removal from a trust that will determine the entertainment company’s future after controlling shareholder Sumner Redstone dies or is deemed incapacitated. |
| Decouple-apalooza – Bonds, Yen, Oil, Dollar Diverge From Volumeless Stock LevitationWaiting For Yellen… Let’s start today with what didn’t go up… USDJPY – once 110.000 stops had been run – decoupled lower from stocks…
Oil – once it tagged $50 – decoupled lower from stocks…
High yields bonds decoupled from stocks…
Treasury yields decoupled lower from stocks…
So where does that leave us for the week… Well stocks love it!! |
| This Is How Much Your Health Insurance Payment Is About To Jump ByIt’s official: years of warnings that Obamacare will lead to dramatic increases in healthcare premiums are about to be validated. As the WSJ writes, big health plans stung by losses in the first few years of the U.S. health law’s implementation are seeking hefty premium increases for individual plans sold through insurance exchanges in more than a dozen states. To be sure, we have extensively covered the imminent danger of rising healthcare prices as a result of Obamacare’s intrusive intervention in the insurance sector; however now that this is about to become mainstream information, we expect consumers to hunker down and save even more in anticipation of what is about to be a shock price increase for millions of middle-class American families. As the WSJ reports, the insurers’ proposed rates for individual coverage in states that have made their 2017 requests public largely bear out health plans’ grim predictions about their challenges under the health-care overhaul. According to the insurers’ filings with regulators, large plans in states including New York, Pennsylvania and Georgia are seeking to raise rates by 20% or more. In states such as Florida and Maryland, insurers are seeking to raise premiums by percentage averages that are markedly above 10%. Among those that have published so far, only in Vermont do big insurers’ requests fall below 10%. Proposals still have to be approved by state regulators, and a full picture of final approved rates across the entire country likely won’t be known until shortly before HealthCare.gov and state equivalents reopen for the law’s fourth main enrollment window on Nov. 1. Nonetheless, the proposed average increases that are available are a vivid indicator this year of how insurers are adapting to the 2010 Affordable Care Act’s transformation of the way health c … |
| Wells Fargo Reintroduces 3% Down MortgagesIn the wake of its recent $1.2 billion settlement with the government, whereby Wells Fargo admitted to deceiving the government into insuring thousands of risky mortgages (yet nobody went to jail), the bank has decided to break with the Federal Housing Administration and offer its own minimal down payment mortgage program. The new program partners with Fannie Mae in order to allow borrowers with credit scores as low as 620 to make as little as a 3% down payment and use income from family members or renters to qualify. Naturally, the intent is to make more loans to low and middle-income borrowers – in the process pushing up home prices countrywide – without going through the FHA. As a reminder, the FHA insures mortgages made to buyers who would otherwise have a hard time getting loans, but it has been shunned by banks following a wave of lawsuits by the Justice Department that alleged poor underwriting. Wells Fargo made $6.3 billion in FHA-backed loans last year, and is a top 20 originator for the FHA according to the WSJ. It’s not just FHA however: as we have shown previously, Wells’ own mortgage origination pipeline has been slowing down in recent years, and as such the corner office of the country’s largest mortgage originator is desperate to find new and innovative ways to boost lending.
After being called out for its deceptive practices, the bank has scaled back on … |
| CEO Bonuses: How Pro Forma Results Boost ThemReported earnings faltered last year, but to help set bonus payments many companies relied on pro forma measures. |
| The Oil Rally: What Comes After $50Oil has broken above $50 a barrel for the first time in 2016. There may be more gains to come. |
| Hewlett Packard and Microsoft: Why Focus Is In, Scale Is OutDownsizing at big tech companies is a cautionary tale that size doesn’t always win. |
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