Stocks Edge Higher; Dow Breaks 13,000!

Stocks and a slew of other risk assets rallied on Monday and Tuesday after Greece finally agreed to the onerous terms of their latest bailout package. The primary catalyst for the risk on trade was continued strength from the U.S. (and by extension global) economy in recent weeks. From our point of view, the major averages confirmed their latest rally attempt on Tuesday 1.3.12 which was Day 9 of their current rally attempt. It was also encouraging to see the S&P 500 break above its downward trendline and its longer term 200 DMA line. Looking forward, the S&P 500 has done a great job staying above its Q4 2011 high (~1292) and is now doing its best to stay above 1356 which corresponds with July’s high. The next level of resistance is 2011’s high just above 1370. The bulls remain in control as long as the benchmark S&P 500 trades above 1292 and then its 200 DMA line.

Monday & Tuesday’s Action: Stocks Edge Higher; Dow Breaks 13,000!

The stock market in U.S. was closed on Monday in observance of the President’s Day holiday. However, U.S. futures, and oversea’s markets enjoyed nice gains on Monday on renewed optimism vis-a-vis the latest bailout for Greece. On Tuesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average topped 13,000 for the first time since May 2008. The DJIA has been up every month since October and is currently enjoying one of its strongest rallies since the March 2009 low! Meanwhile, the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite has already taken out its 2007 high and is currently sitting at its highest level since December 2000! Make no mistake about it, the bulls are clearly in control of this market as the global economy continues to recovery from the Great Recession in 2008 and 2009. In the short term, stocks are very extended to the upside and a 5-9% pullback would be considered “normal” and “healthy” for this very strong bull market.