Commentary

July 13, 2009 (FinancialWire) (By Genevieve Hawkins) — The major US stock indexes all dropped last week on concern about second quarter earnings, but with most investors already braced for bad news from the likes of Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) Wall Street might be able to counter the downward trend in the short term. Last week the Dow dropped 1.6%, while the S&P 500 dipped 1.9% and the Nasdaq declined 2.3% on general anxiety about the scope of a second half recovery. With so much money lining up to short the market Wall Street may be able to buck the downward trend in the coming week provided earnings reports come in better than expected.

Economic data through next Friday include readings on June retail sales, the Producer and Consumer Price Indexes, and data on industrial production. Several banks will report earnings for the coming week and the outlooks given by Dow components Intel and General Electric may give the market some direction. Although it is likely to be a bearish summer overall this stocks may rise this week if short sellers are forced to get out of their positions quickly. There may be a surprising amount of volatility for the lazy days of summer.

About the author: Genevieve Hawkins earned her bachelor’s degree in Psychology and took a host of graduate level courses before turning her eye to writing in 2002. Since then she has published articles on both the Internet and in print for Valley Scene Magazine, Infosearch Media and multiple other outlets. She has been a contributing writer for FinancialWire(tm) for over three years and she also edits corporate earnings transcripts for CallStreet. Also visit Genevieve Hawkins’ Investrend Weblog: “Hawkins’ Eye On The Market” (http://www.investrendweblogs.net/ghawkins).

The FirstAlert(tm) Economics Calendar lists Treasury auctions 3&6-month bills at 11:30 a.m. EDT and the Treasury Budget Statement for June at 1 p.m. EDT.

The FirstAlert(tm) Events Calendar showcases AEP, DUK at Infocast Storage Week Conference.

The FinancialWire(tm) Money Index is an indicator of the depth of market direction or indirection. While not always including the same stocks, the NYSE/NASDAQ/AMEX 25 Most Actives and NYSE/NASDAQ/AMEX greatest Percentage Losers and Percentage Winners indicate the direction in which the mass of money is flowing, as well as the general focus of the market. Of the Most Actives, last session’s trading showed 11 advancers versus 14 decliners. Advancers were led by the PowerShares QQQ Trust Series 1 (NASDAQ: QQQQ) trading 39,769,475 shares closing  at $34.92 (up 0.4%), the SPDR Trust ETF (NYSE: SPY) trading 37,690,389 shares closing at $87.96 (down 0.2%) and Bank of America Corporation (NYSE: BAC) trading 30,333,200 shares closing at $11.88 (down 0.8%). Last session’s Greatest Percentage Losers were led by CIT Group, Inc. (NYSE: CIT) trading on volume of 12,242,800 shares (losing $128.3 million), BankAtlantic Bancorp Inc. (NYSE: BBX) trading on volume of 120,300 shares (losing $23.7 million) and Hemispherx Biopharma, Inc. (AMEX: HEB) trading on volume of 318,100 shares (losing $16.1 million). Last session’s Greatest Percentage Winners were led by MTR Gaming Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: MNTG) trading on volume of 170,496 shares (gaining $32.1 million), SMI Products Inc. (NASDAQ: NLTX) trading on volume of 26,059 shares (gaining $12.1 million) and Prana Biotechnology Ltd (NASDAQ: PRAN) trading on volume of 222,150 (gaining $7.4 million).

FirstAlert(tm) Website of the Day: http://www.hollywoodsign.org/

Quote of the Day: “The hand that dips into the bottom of the pot will eat the biggest snail.” Wole Soyinka

Today is: Gruntled Workers Day.

Happy Birthday: John Jacob Astor IV, Dave Garroway, Bob Crane, Patrick Stewart, Harrison Ford, Roger McGuinn, Ernő Rubik, Cheech Marin, Wole Soyinka, George “Pinky” Nelson, Cameron Crowe, Rhonda Vincent.

Today in History: HMS Resolution, under the command of Captain James Cook, set sail from Plymouth, England, in 1772. The Continental Congress enacted the Northwest Ordinance in 1787, establishing governing rules for the Northwest Territory. Women competed in modern Olympics for the first time in 1908. Gold was discovered near Cochrane, Ontario, in 1909. The Hollywood Sign was officially dedicated in the hills above Hollywood in 1923. A heat wave struck the midwestern United States in 1936. The all-time highest temperatures for the states of Wisconsin, Michigan, and Indiana are all recorded on this date. Alexander Butterfield revealed the existence of the Nixon tapes to the special Senate committee investigating the Watergate break in in 1973. The New York City Blackout of 1977 lasted for 25 hours and results in looting and other disorder in 1977.

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