The market responded well today to good economic news and to the positive and somewhat surprising response to the election of a moderate Iranian President.  Some moderation in Turkey didn’t hurt either, and overnight positive markets in Asia and Europe gave bullish investors enough encouragement to buy equities broadly. We think it likely that this week the market will challenge highs that were set in late May. Read more about What the Market Wants: Market Will Likely Challenge Earlier Highs this Week

The last couple of weeks has seen Wall Street moving in something of a sideways trend, though that hardly indicates the increased level of intraday volatility that the equity market has been experiencing since the last week of May. Will it be more of the same for the coming week? Bet on it . . . Read more about ETF Periscope: Fed Playing a Volatile Game

Stock investors are protecting gains and holding off on deploying cash as concerns abound about central banks, including the Federal Reserve, tapering off on their stimulus programs, i.e., money printing. Low-interest policies and quantitative easing have been the driving force for economic recovery while pushing return-hungry investors into equities by default. Read more about Sector Detector: Patient bulls are getting their buyng opportunity

Despite today’s roller-coaster market, the market ended up essentially flat. But questions abound. Will interest rates start rising now in a meaningful way? Will the European courts find yet another way to derail the country bail-outs? Will Asian issues result in something positive for our markets, or will Asia continue to vacillate on most matters? Those questions remain to be answered. In the meantime, we’ve found four stocks that may be right for this market, one in the Technology Sector, one in Financials, and two in Consumer Cyclicals.  Read more about Market Getting and Giving Mixed Signals

The VIX is looking a little bit jumpy as of late, perhaps reflecting something of a rising wariness among investors in terms of risk.

Can the Bulls be standing on something of a slippery slope, about to slide towards a trend reversal? Or is it just a seasonal thing, with investors tightening up their portfolios prior to summer?

  Read more about ETF Periscope: Late Spring Volatility Likely to Segue into Summer

Here in Santa Barbara, we refer to the annual summer ritual of heavy marine layer engulfing the coastline for much of the day as the “June gloom.” It can be frustrating to beach-going visitors since there are otherwise no clouds, and the inland areas are brilliantly sunny. Read more about Sector Detector: Bulls need to shake off the “June gloom”

The week started sluggishly with a little positive kick at today’s closing. All three major indices closed in slightly positive territory, despite spending most of the day in the red. Volume was decent for this time of the year.

We think it is significant that the markets closed up, since two of today’s economic reports were both below expectations. The ISM manufacturing index fell below the sacrosanct 50 level, compared to last month’s 50.7, and construction spending was up from last month’s weak -0.8%.  Auto and truck sales numbers, coming in this afternoon before the market closed, were better than expected, with 15.3M vehicles versus last month’ s 15.2M and an expected 15.25M. Read more about What the Market Wants: Opportunities Remain to Find Bargains

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Nothing like a 300-point swing to light up the volatility index. That’s pretty much what happened last Friday, as the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) started the day with a nice little 70-point gain in the morning.

From that point on, however, investors seemed to lose their appetite for equities, as the Dow trended steadily downward for the remainder of the day. Steadily, that is, until the last 15 minutes of the trading session, when a sharp drop ensued as sellers proceeded without any noticeable resistance into the close.
  Read more about ETF Periscope: Bears Eye Recent VIX Pop With Considerable Interest

Central banks reiterated their commitment to supporting the global economy, and US investors showed their approval. The central banks are clearly prepared to keep the liquidity flowing for now, austerity be damned. Such statements are music to investors’ ears. Read more about Sector Detector: Rankings take a noticeably bullish turn

Surprise!  The market roared ahead this morning with all three major domestic indices up at least 1.5%. The move was triggered by a weekend with little negative economic news domestically and globally.  Then this morning, an impressive increase in Consumer Confidence to 76.2, which was not only well above last month’s 68.1 and the projected 72.5 but also a 5-year high, provided investors something to cheer about. Read more about What the Market Wants: Is The Market Too High?