The market had a volatile day today. After a succssful bond sales in Europe, the US market was looking to start the day strong. However, a surprising jump in jobless claims kept the lid on the buying. The market suffered brief weakness in the morning, but, was able to recover in the afternoon.
Energy stocks were weak as natural gas continued to fall. Oil fell as well. CVX fell 2.6% as the company lowered its guidance for 4Q. APA was down 2.02%. HES slid 1.61%. Asian stocks bounced higher: SOHU +3%; SINA +4.59%; CTRP +5.17%.
The Dow was up +21.57 points; SPX added +3.02 points; Nasdaq gained +13.94 points:
OIH (oil services) was down 0.89%. USO (oil) fell 2.21%. XLE (energy) lost 0.94%. UNG (natural gas) dropped 1.83%. GLD (gold) and SLV (silver) were slightly up.
SPX
SPX added +3.02 points to close at 1295.5. Its daily MAs and MACD went higher.
Nasdaq
Nadsaq gained +13.94 points to close at 2724.7. Its daily MAs and MACD were up.
The market showed surprising strength after the quick drop in the morning and managed to glide higher despite the weakness in the energy sector. Financials stayed strong ahead of JPM's earnings tomorrow morning. But, things do look a bit toppy, technically speaking. We'll have to see how JPM reports tomorrow. But, even if JPM gives a solid report, investors will most likely want to hear strong guidance for 2012 as well. SPX has some resistance at 1300. We'll probably hold on to mostly cash ahead of the long weekend.
Good night and HappyTrading! ™
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