Stocks Rally On A Busy Monday

Looking at the market, the action remains healthy. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, small cap Russell 2000 index, S&P 500 and Nasdaq composite are all trading near fresh 2009 highs. Leaving the NYSE composite just below its 2009 high. The fact that the market managed to rally last week and hit new highs in the face of disconcerting economic data and a stronger dollar is a very healthy sign. Ideally, one would like to see leadership and volume expand over the next few weeks as the major averages continue advancing.

Santa Claus Visits Wall St.

The market closed higher for the week and on Thursday’s shortened pre-holiday session. Volume, an important indicator of institutional sponsorship, was lighter than Wednesday’s levels, again revealing the lack of appetite for accumulating shares from very large and influential institutional investors. Advancers led decliners by nearly a X-to-X ratio on the NYSE and by over…

Stocks End Higher on Mixed Economic Data

Looking at the market, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and benchmark S&P 500 index both closed near their respective resistance levels as they quietly consolidate their recent gains in lighter pre-holiday volume. Meanwhile, the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite continues to lead its peers as it managed to hit another 2009 high on Wednesday.

Remember that the S&P 500 plunged -58% from its all time high in October 2007 of 1,576 to its March 2009 low of 666. Since then, the market has rebounded over +65% but still remains -29% below its all-time high of 1,576. In addition, the index has retraced nearly -50% (455 points) of its decline (910 points) which is a popular Fibonacci level used by many technical analysts. Normally, markets rebound approximately 50% before resuming their prior trend (which would be down in this case). Longstanding readers of this column know that we do not predict the future. Instead, we remain open to any possible scenario that may unfold and interpret what we see happening by remaining objective and carefully analyzing the tape (price and volume) each day.

Stocks Rally On Lighter Volume

Tuesday, December 22, 2009 Market Commentary: Stocks in the US closed higher after the latest round of economic data was released. Volume, an important indicator of institutional sponsorship, was lower than Monday’s levels. Advancers led decliners by nearly a 2-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and by a 16-to-11 ratio on the Nasdaq exchange. There were…