FirstAlert(tm) Daily 8/17: Resuscitating The Rally
- Commentary -
August 17, 2009 (FinancialWire) (By Genevieve Hawkins) — Stocks pulled back last week modestly on concerns about consumer spending, but financial outlooks from retailers such as Target (NYSE: TGT) could lead to an upswing in the near future. Last week the Dow dropped 0.5%, while the S&P 500 (SPX) (SNP: ^GSPC) pulled back 0.6%, and the Nasdaq (NASDAQ) (NASDAQ: ^IXIC) dropped 0.7% due to weak consumer sentiment and unexpected retail sales decline. With Federal officials seizing mortgage lender Colonial Bancgroup (NYSE: CNB) over the weekend, there is a good chance markets will be propped up early in the week to offset investor panic.
Earnings season is winding down, but major names left include retailers such as Lowes (NYSE: LOW) and Home Depot (NYSE: HD), both of which may beat watered-down expectations. Economic reports of interest in the coming week include the homebuilders index for August, housing starts in July, and the producer price index.
Ben Bernanke is also expected to speak about the financial crisis on Friday. Concerns about consumer spending and the seizure of Colonial Bancgroup would make this week seem primed for another slide. But a contrarian view is warranted for just this reason. The rally may prove to have some legs left if only to keep nervous investors from pulling out of the market.
The FirstAlert(tm) Economics Calendar lists NY Empire State Manufacturing Index for August (8:30 a.m.), Treasury International Capital Statement for June (9 a.m.), NAHB Housing Market Index for July (1 p.m.), Treasury auctions 3&6-month bills (1 p.m.).
The FirstAlert(tm) Events Calendar showcases Susquehanna International Edelweiss and SFG India Conference.
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 the Most Actives, last session’s trading showed 6 advancers versus 19 decliners. Volume leaders were led by Citigroup, Inc. (NYSE: C) trading 146,852,600 shares closing at $4.04 (down 0.5%), the PowerShares QQQ Trust Series 1 (NASDAQ: QQQQ) trading 49,276,451 shares closing at $39.63 (down 1.1%) and the SPDR Trust ETF (NYSE: SPY) trading 40,938,576 shares closing at $100.79 (down 0.8%). Of last session’s Greatest Percentage Losers, stocks taking the greatest monetary losses were led by Barclays PLC (NYSE: BCS) trading on volume of 8,300 shares (losing $6,868.5 million), Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE: BKS) trading on volume of 627,900 shares (losing $119.8 million) and Jinpan International Ltd. (NASDAQ: JST) trading on volume of 183,339 shares (losing $54.7 million). (The statistical source for deriving each day’s The FirstAlert(tm) Money Index is StockSmart.com http://infoescrow.net/f/?u=http://www.stocksmart.com/ri/mostactive.staticdoc).
FirstAlert(tm) Website of the Day: http://www.bombshells.com/gallery/west/
Quote of the Day: “Since you have chosen to elect a man with a timber toe to succeed me, you may all go to hell and I will go to Texas.” Davy Crockett
Today is: Independence Day in Indonesia.
Happy Birthday: Pierre de Fermat, Davy Crockett, Samuel Goldwyn, Mae West, Maureen O’Hara, Francis Gary Powers, Glenn Corbett, Luther Allison, Robert De Niro, Guillermo Vilas, Belinda Carlisle, Sean Penn, Donnie Wahlberg.
Today in History: Robert Fulton’s first American steamboat left New York City for Albany, New York, in 1807 on the Hudson River, inaugurating the first commercial steamboat service in the world. Arizona blacksmith F.P. Cahill was fatally wounded by Billy the Kid in 1877, Billy’s first murder. Category 5 Hurricane Camille hit the Mississippi coast in 1969, killing 248 people and causing $1.5 billion in damage.
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