- Market Commentary -

March 8, 2010 (FinancialWire) (By Genevieve Hawkins) — The few earnings reports left from the likes of Kroger (NYSE: KR) and the bullish sentiment going into the trading week may be signs that stocks are going down in the near term.

Last week a better than expected employment report for February led the Dow up 2.3%, while the S&P 500 rose 3.1% and the Nasdaq climbed 3.9%, breaking through key resistance levels. Although some market watchers are pointing to the beginning of another leg up for stocks, lingering issues with sovereign debt defaults make this scenario seem unlikely. It is more likely that another crisis is just around the turn.

With earnings season over, investors will pay attention to key economic reports in the coming week on consumer sentiment and February retail sales. The bad weather in much of the U.S. could be a harbinger of worse than expected consumer spending data. International news may also come into play as it relates to debt problems overseas, and any sudden bad news could make market participants skittish.

Stocks may rally a bit, but there are too many pitfalls to expect it to continue for long. The contrarian money is on a market drop and another return to volatility.

[Go to http://www.financialwire.net/?s=genevieve+hawkins to see more commentaries by Genevieve Hawkins.]

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The FirstAlert(tm) Economics Calendar lists Treasury auctions 3&6-month bills (11:30 a.m.).

The FirstAlert(tm) Events Calendar showcases AOL, VZ, LVLT, CTL at Credit Suisse Group Global Media and Communications Conference; BABY, LLY, INCY, IMMU at Cowen and Company Healthcare Conference; DENN, AZO, LTM, URBN at Stifel Nicolas Consumer Conference; HERO, KNOL, NVDA, CHKP at Raymond James Institutional Investors Conference; MSFT, CRNT, RSYS, ACTL at Jefferies & Co Global Technology Conference.

FirstAlert(tm) Website of the Day: http://www.army.mil/medalofhonor

Quote of the Day: “Don’t worry about people stealing your ideas. If your ideas are any good, you’ll have to ram them down people’s throats.” Howard Aiken

Today is: Girls Write Now Day.

Happy Birthday: Carl Philipp Emmanuel Bach, Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr., Alan Hale, Jr., Cyd Charisse, Howard Aiken, Lynn Redgrave, Micky Dolenz, Randy Meisner, Freddie Prinze Jr.

Today in History: Very unexpectedly, Anne Stuart, the sister of the childless Mary II, became Queen of England, Scotland and Ireland after the death of William III of Orange in 1702 from injuries he suffered in a fall from his horse. Susan B. Anthony testified in 1884 before the Judiciary Committee of the House of Representatives arguing for an amendment to the U.S. Constitution granting women the right to vote. The first case of Spanish flu was diagnosed in 1918, the start of a devastating pandemic. The first stock car race was held in 1936 in Daytona Beach, Florida. The United States Supreme Court ruled in 1948 that religious instruction in public schools violated the Constitution. Max Conrad circumnavigated the earth in 1961 in eight days, 18 hours and 49 minutes setting a new world record.

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