- Market Commentary -

March 29, 2010 (FinancialWire) (By Genevieve Hawkins) — Wall Street had modest gains last week despite the subdued performance for commodity stocks such as Exxon (NYSE: XOM), and the Dow is now on the cusp of 11,000 points.

Last week the Dow rose 1.0%, while the S&P 500 picked up 0.6% and the Nasdaq increased 0.9% as investors returned to complacency. With Spring Break upon us and Easter next Sunday, investors are unlikely to make any major moves in the coming week.

With the lull between first and second quarter earnings seasons, market watchers will be following economic data and news about Greece’s debt negotiations. For the coming Good Friday-shortened trading week, many investors will be curious what Thursday’s March jobless claims will say about the unfolding economic recovery. There will also be economic reports on home prices and personal income.

The Dow may top 11,000, but a stay above that level may be short-lived. It’s likely to be a quiet week with no major market moves in either direction.

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

FirstAlert(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 (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. Of last session’s Greatest Percentage Winners, stocks making the greatest monetary gains were led by consumer discretionary/specialty retail company The Finish Line, Inc. (NASDAQ: FINL) trading on volume of 1,214,329 (gaining $118.1 million), healthcare provider & services company inVentiv Health, Inc. (NASDAQ: VTIV) trading on volume of 854,171 (gaining $84.8 million) and healthcare/biotech company ARCA Biopharma, Inc. (NASDAQ: ABIO) trading on volume of 10,340,493 (gaining $42.4 million). Of last session’s Greatest Percentage Losers, stocks taking the greatest monetary losses were led by oil & gas company InterOil Corp. (NYSE: IOC) trading on volume of 1,686,800 shares (losing $319.0 million), commercial banks company W Holding Company, Inc. (NYSE: WHI) trading on volume of 30,600 shares (losing $202.6 million), and consumer electronics logistics services and engineering solutions to the ATC Technology Corp. (NASDAQ: ATAC) trading on volume of 358,207 shares (losing $121.0 million). Of the Most Actives, last session’s trading showed 13 advancers versus 11 decliners. Volume leaders were led by diversified financial services company Citigroup, Inc. (NYSE: C) trading 59,872,300 shares closing at $4.31 (up 0.9%), the SPDR Financial Select Sector ETF (NYSE: XLF) trading 53,286,713 shares closing at $16.00 (up 0.1%) and the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (NYSE: SPY) trading 39,616,218 shares closing at $116.58 (down 0.51%).  The complete chart for the FirstAlert(tm) Money Index Synopsis is provided by StockSmart.com, and is accessible via Investrend’s dedicated Stock Smart NYSE-NASDAQ-AMEX Summary webpage (at http://www.investrend.com/fa-index). Go to http://www.financialwire.net/?s=%22%27Money+Index%27+Synopsis for all the most recent FirstAlert(tm) “Money Index” Synopses.

FirstAlert(tm) Website of the Day: http://tomsastroblog.com/

Quote of the Day: “To have a reason to get up in the morning, it is necessary to possess a guiding principle. A belief of some kind. A bumper sticker if you will.” Judith Guest

Today is: Knights of Columbus Founders Day, Passover.

Happy Birthday: John Lightfoot, John Tyler, Cy Young, Pearl Bailey, Sam Walton, Judith Guest, Eric Idle, Vangelis, Marina Sirtis, Lucy Lawless, Jennifer Capriati.

Today in History: Swedish colonists establish the first settlement in Delaware in 1638, called New Sweden. An upstream ice jam stopped almost all water flow over Niagara Falls in 1848. Ethel and Julius Rosenberg were convicted in 1951 of conspiracy to commit espionage. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closes at 10006.78 in 1999, above the 10,000 mark for the first time ever.

[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.]

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