- Analytical Commentary -

March 10, 2010 (FinancialWire) (By Dr. Joe Duarte) — The S & P 500 SPDR ETF (NYSE: SPY) celebrated the one-year anniversary of the current bull market by making new highs on March 9.

To be sure, the gains weren’t all that magnificent. But gains they were. And no one was complaining much, given the fact that the bears have been out beating the negativity drums for some time and calling for some kind of an anniversary decline. 

Still, it’s good to put things in perspective. This bull market is now a year old, which means that it’s starting to grow old, in terms of cyclical bull markets, or bull markets that don’t last several years.  The jury is still out on whether this is a secular bull market, the kind that lasts several years, even decades, such as the ones in the 1980s and 1990s.

And while we could argue the semantics and the academics of whether this is one kind or another bull market, it’s hard to argue that it is a bull market of some sort. And that may be good enough for now, especially if you’re invested in the right sectors of the market, especially in some of the smaller stocks, such as those contained in the Russell 2000 Index of small stocks.

The smaller stocks have moved higher faster than the blue chip stocks of late. This is a good thing for investors, as it shows that money is flowing into growth stocks.  Growth stocks tend to rise when investors are starting to become more positive about the potential for improved earnings. And improved earnings tend to happen more often when the economy is in decent shape.

It’s clear that the kind and length of any economic recovery is uncertain at this point. Yet, the longer that the economy doesn’t fall apart altogether serves to give investors more confidence. And that’s where we may be right now, at a point where investors realize that it could be worse and that putting some money to work makes sense.

The problems could rise a few weeks, or a few months down the line, if stock prices get too far ahead of reality.  For now, there are few signs of that, and that’s why the stock market keeps moving higher.

[Go to http://www.financialwire.net/?s=joe+duarte to see more commentaries by Dr. Joe Duarte. Additional insight and commentary from Dr. Joe Duarte (http://www.joe-duarte.com/), can be found by visiting Dr. Joe Duarte’s “Market I.Q.’ (at http://www.joe-duarte.com/free/order_choices.asp), Duarte’s “Intelligent Forecasts” (at http://www.intelligentforecasts.com), as well as by reading Duarte’s books (available via http://www.amazon.com/), which include “Market Timing For Dummies”, Successful Energy Sector Investing," "Successful Biotech Investing", "Successful Energy Sector Investing” and "After-Hours Trading Made Easy" (co-authored by Duarte). In addition to regularly contributing to Investrend Weblogs (http://www.investrendweblogs.net/jduarte/), has logged many appearances on CNBC and is a frequent radio guest.  One of CNBC's original Market Mavens, Dr. Duarte has been writing about the financial markets since 1990.  He is a featured columnist on Stockwatch.com. His articles and commentary have been featured on Marketwatch.com, Barron's, Smart Money, Medical Economics, and in Technical Analysis of Stocks and Commodities magazines.  In 2003, Doctor Duarte received second place, in the professional section, of the Medical Economics Investment Challenge with a 12-month return of 42%.]

The FirstAlert(tm) “Money Index” is an indicator of the depth of market direction or indirection. While not always including the same stocks, the combined NYSE, NASDAQ and AMEX 25 Most Actives and combined NYSE, NASDAQ and AMEX greatest Percentage Losers and Percentage Winners (weighted against pure monetary loss/gain) indicate the direction in which the mass of money is flowing, as well as the general focus of the market. The most recently published FirstAlert(tm) Money Index Synopses are accessible via FinancialWire.net (at http://www.financialwire.net/?s=index+synopsis).  The data providing the basis for the FirstAlert(tm) Money Index is provided courtesy of Stock Smart, and complete Stock Smart charts and closing summaries are directly accessible via a dedicated Investrend.com webpage (at http://www.investrend.com/fa-index).

The FirstAlert(tm) Economics Calendar lists Wholesale Inventories for January (10 a.m.), EIA Petroleum Inventories (10:30 a.m.), Treasury auctions 10-year notes (1 p.m.), Treasury Budget Statement for February (2 p.m.).

The FirstAlert(tm) Events Calendar showcases AAV, ERF, CMZ at FirstEnergy and Societe Generale Canadian Energy Conference; CA, DIOD, AVGO, CHKP at Jefferies & Co Global Technology Conference; CSCO, NETL, RVBD, NVDA at Wedbush Morgan Securities New York MAC: Management Access Conference; CSX, NSC, UNP, KSU at JPMorgan Aviation, Transportation & Defense Conference; ENTR, MLNX, PCLM, SHOR at Credit Suisse Communication Equipment & Networking Conference; EPCT at The Center for Business Intelligence West Coast Forum on Early Access Programs; LINTA, TWC, S, T at Credit Suisse Group Global Media and Communications Conference; LNC, COF, ZION, BK at Citi Financial Services Conference; MASI, MAPP, DYAX, SLXP at Cowen and Company Healthcare Conference; PL Annual Investor Conference; RGS, JACK, PETM, AZO at Bank of America Merrill Lynch Consumer Conference; SYNT at Oppenheimer & Co. Internet Services 1-on-1 Conference; TSYS, TLAB, PSYS, JBL at Raymond James Institutional Investors Conference.

FirstAlert(tm) Website of the Day: http://www.roblox.com/Default.aspx

Quote of the Day: “We are born princes and the civilizing process makes us frogs.” Eric Berne

Today is: Registered Dietitian Day.

Happy Birthday: Edmund Waller, Tsar Alexander III of Russia, Broncho Billy Anderson, Sam Jaffe, Chuck Norris, Bob Greene, Sharon Stone, Edie Brickell, Carrie Underwood.

Today in History: Christopher Columbus left Hispaniola for Spain in 1496, ending his second visit to the Western Hemisphere. Charles I of England dissolved Parliament in 1629, starting the Eleven Years Tyranny in which there was no parliament. The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was ratified by the United States Senate in 1848, ending the Mexican-American War. Alexander Graham Bell made the first successful telephone call in 1876 by saying “Mr. Watson, come here, I want to see you.” Almon Strowger, an undertaker in Topeka, Kansas, patented the strowger switch in 1891, a device which led to the automation of telephone circuit switching. An earthquake in Long Beach, California, killed 120 people in 1933. Astronomers discovered rings around Uranus in 1977. The NASDAQ stock market index peaked at 5048.62, signaling the beginning of the end of the dot-com boom.

[FirstAlert(tm) was created by Gayle Essary, founder of Investrend Communications, Inc., parent of Investrend Information. The opinions expressed in FirstAlert(tm) do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Investrend.]

FinancialWire(tm) is committed to serving the financial community through true journalism and providing relevant resources to investors. Standards-based, independent equity research on numerous public companies is available through the Investrend Research Syndicate (http://www.investrend.com/reports) written by FIRST Research Consortium (http://www.investrend.com/FIRST) member-providers. Free annual reports and company filings for companies mentioned in the news are available through the Investrend Information Syndicate (at http://investrend.ar.wilink.com/?level=279). FinancialWire(tm), in cooperation with the Investrend Broadcast Syndicate, also provides complete, daily conference call and webcast schedules as a service to shareholders and investors via the FirstAlert(tm) Network’s “FirstAlert(tm) Daily” (http://www.financialwire.net/news-alerts/).

FinancialWire(tm) is a fully independent, proprietary news wire service. FinancialWire(tm) is not a press release service, and receives no compensation for its news, opinions or distributions. Further disclosure is at the FinancialWire(tm) website  (http://www.financialwire.net/disclosures.php). Contact FinancialWire(tm) directly via inquiries@financialwire.net.

Legal Disclaimer:

EIN Presswire provides this news content "as is" without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the author above.