Archives of “stock market index” tag

rss

US major indices ending near session lows

  
Analysis, US Market
#  #  #  #  #  #  #

Not a good day for the major stock indices

The major US stock indices were spooked by weaker than expected ISM manufacturing data . Shortly after the data came out, the major indices turned from being up to being down.

The momentum continued through the day.
The final numbers are showing:
  • S&P index, -36.56 points or -1.23% in 2940.18. That is just off the session low at 2938.70. The pair fell below its 50 day moving average today which had been holding support for most of September. That MA comes in at 2948 area.  Stay below going forward keeps the bears in control.  The 100 day MA is down at 2925.50 currently.  A move below that level increases the bearish bias for the pair
  • NASDAQ index, -90.654 points or -1.3% at 7908.68. The low for the day reach 7906.293. For the Nasdaq index, it tumbled below its 100 day moving average at 7963.81 today.  The next major target would be its 200 day moving average. However that is still a bit away at 7704.411.
  • Dow fell -343.79 points of -1.28% at 26573.04.. The low for the index reached 26562.22.
Selling with broad-based today with all the major sectors moving lower.
Some of the major losers today included:
  • Charles Schwab, -9.73%. They lowered commissions $0 on trades
  • DuPont, -4.73%
  • Schlumberger, -4.36%
  • 3M, -3.67%
  • General Motors, -3.66%
  • Slack, -3.46%
  • Cisco, -3.36%
  • Caterpillar, -3.14%
  • Morgan Stanley, -3.05%
  • Ford motors, -2.84%
  • Wells Fargo, -2.76%
  • Fed ex, -2.72%
  • McDonald’s, -2.64%
  • Bank of America, -2.50%
  • Exxon Mobil, -2.37%
  • Twitter, -2.33%
  • Goldman Sachs, -2.20%
Some winners on the day included
  • Phillip Morris, +2.52%
  • Tesla, +1.59%
  • Visa, +1.34%
  • Box, Inc, +1.15%
  • Wynn resorts, +1.11%
  • Netflix, +0.73%
  • Papa John’s +0.42%
  • Coca-Cola, +0.37%
  • Apple, +0.25%
  • Pepsi, +0.20%

US Indices close with mixed results. Earlier gains taken away.

  
Analysis, US Market
#  #  #  #  #  #  #  #  #

S&P unchanged. Nasdaq up marginally. Dow down.

The major US stock indices are closing the day with mixed results.  Each however had earlier gains taken away into the close.
Looking at the three major indices, one ended unchanged, one was up marginally and one was down.  The final numbers are showing:
  • S&P index, unchanged at 3006.79. The high reach 3021.99.. The low extended to 3003.16
  • NASDAQ closed up 5.487 points or 0.07% at 8182.87. The high reached 8237.43. The low extended 28174.32
  • The Dow industrial average closed down -52.29 points or -0.19% at 27094.79. The high reached 27272.17. The low extended to 27064.21.
The chart below shows the percentage change high, the percentage change low, and the closing percentage change for the major North American and European stock indices today. European shares closed near their high levels for the day. The US major indices closed near their session lows.
S&P unchanged. Nasdaq up marginally. Dow down.

What seemed to be a negative catalyst for stocks was a report that a White House official commented that tariffs on China could go as high as 50 to 100%. That spooked the market and prices started to ratchet lower.

Solid up day for the European stock indices today

  
Analysis, Global Indices
#  #  #  #  #  #  #

Major indices are all in the black

The major European stock indices are ending the day with solid gains, helped by decreased attention in Hong Kong, increasing hope for US/China relations, less no-deal risk for the UK, and more dovish Fed officials (the ECB is set to act in September too).
The provisional closes are showing:
  • German DAX, +0.94%
  • France’s CAC, +1.21%
  • UK’s FTSE, +0.60%
  • Spains Ibex, +0.61%
  • Italy’s FTSE MIB, +1.58%
In the benchmark 10 year note sector in Europe, yields are higher as well (with the exception of Italy).
Major indices are all in the blackIn other markets as London/European traders look to exit:
  • spot gold is near unchanged at $1547. The high price reached $1550.23. The low extended to $1533.93
  • WTI crude oil futures are up $2.25 or 4.17% at $56.17. That is near the high price for the day at $56.22. The US impose tighter sanctions on Iran today.
In the US stock market major indices are enjoying solid gains as well.  A snapshot of the market currently shows:
  • S&P index 27 points or 0.93% at 2933.22
  • NASDAQ composite index is up 84 points or 1.07% at 7958.13
  • Dow Jones industrial average is up 212 points or 0.81% at 26329.70
US yields have come off high levels and trade mixed with the longer and up marginally and the shorter end unchanged or down marginally:
US yields are trading mixedA snapshot of the forex market shows that the GBP is still the strongest of the majors (but off earlier higher levels). The JPY and USD remain the weakest.  The CAD  has gotten stronger on stronger oil and a was dovish Bank of Canada statement.

US stocks opened lower and closed lower

  
Analysis, US Market
#  #  #  #  #  #  #  #

…but off lows for the day

The US major stock indices opened lower and closed lower. The low for the Dow reached -1.61%. For the Nasdaq it reached -1.45%. For the S&P it fell by as much as -1.18%.  However, the indices did recover some of those declines by the close.
The final numbers are showing:
  • The S&P fell -20.02 points or -0.69% at 2906.27
  • The Nasdaq fell -88.72 points or -1.11% at 7874.16
  • The Dow fell -285.26 points or -1.08% at 26118
Below are the % ranges for the North American and European markets for the day.  All major indices are ending lower.

US stock closes higher, but off the higher extreme

  
Analysis, US Market
#  #  #  #  #  #  #  #  #

Nasdaq leads the indices on the day. Dow lags

The major US stock indices are ending the session with solid gains but off the session highs. The indices opened higher and remained higher on the back of the Trump administration talking up the economy and more Fed criticism (and calls for sharply lower rates ….i.e. Pres. Trump wants 100 bps lower).  The Trump Administration also extended its reprieve on penalties for doing business with Huawei which gave a boost to stocks.
The final numbers are showing:
  • The S&P index up 34.97 points or 1.21% at 2923.65. The high reached 2931.00. The low extended to 2913.48.
  • The Nasdaq index is closing up 106.81 points or 1.35% at 8002. 81. The high reached 8026.75. The low reached 7974.25
  • The Dow is closing up 249.78 points or 0.96% at 26135.79. The high reached 26222.32. The low reached 26020.06.

US Major indices all close at record highs (and close at the highs for the day)

  
Analysis, US Market
#  #  #  #  #  #  #  #

S&P index closes above the 3000 level for the 1st time ever

Its the Triple Crown. All three of the major US stock indices closed at session highs. For the S&P index, it is closing above the 3K level for the very first time after toying with moves above on Wednesday and Thursday only to fail.
The final numbers are showing:
  • The S&P index of 13.84 points or 0.46% at 3013.75
  • THE NASDAQ index of 48 points 102 points or 0.59% at 8244.14
  • The Dow is up 243.95 points or 0.90% at 27332.02
Below is a graphical look at the %low, %high and %close. The highs and the close % are basically the same thing today.
For the week, the major indices are ending higher with the Dow leading the way:

  • Dow, up 1.52%
  • Nasdaq, up 1.01%
  • S&P, up 0.78%
For the month of July, the major indices have tacked on decent gains (after a stellar 1H)
  • Dow up 2.75%
  • S&P, up 2.45%
  • Nasdaq up 2.97%.
Next week will begin earning announcements for the 2Q. Below are a snapshot of some of the major releases over the next two weeks, starting with Citigroup on Monday and JP Morgan on Tuesday. The market is going into earnings at all time record highs (I don’t know if that is good or bad).  The market seems extended but it is “hard to fight City Hall”
the earnings calendar for the next few weeks

US Indices opened down on day and remained negative for the entire day

  
Analysis, US Market
#  #  #  #  #  #

Major indice trade in the black but close mid range.

The closes in the major stock indices was near the middle of the day’s high and low. However, the major indices opened down on the day and remained negative for the entire day.
The final numbers are showing:
  • S&P index is down -14.45 points or -0.48% at 2975.95. The high reached 2980.76. The low extended to 2970.09.
  • Nasdaq index closing down -63.408 points or -0.78% at 8098.38.  The high reached 8112.91. The low extended to 8078.39
  • Dow is closing down -115.98 points or -0.43% at 26806.14. The high reached 26839.14. The low extended to 26744.87.
Below is graphical view of the % high and  %low and %close of the NA and European major indices.
Major indice trade in the black but close mid range.

Index Investing Unmasked: 96% Of Stocks Are Garbage

  
Analysis, Education
#  #  #  #  #  #  #  #  #  #  #  #  #  #  #

Warren Buffett released his annual letter over the weekend, in which he praised Jack Bogle as his “hero” for promoting index investing. The irony is that investors would have been better off buying Berkshire shares. Over the last 10 years, Berkshire stock is up 139% while the S&P 500 is up 71%. The real question is why Buffett just doesn’t tout his own stock rather than promote index investing. He tries to explain himself:

 “Charlie and I prefer to see Berkshire shares sell in a fairly narrow range around intrinsic value, neither wishing them to sell at an unwarranted high price – it’s no fun having owners who are disappointed with their purchases – nor one too low.”

Buffett is doing something every skilled salesman does: managing expectations. Buffett’s own performance is compared against the S&P 500, and what better way to win that game than by putting a floor under the Berkshire price with the promise of share buybacks and then putting a ceiling on the stock by promoting index investing? The real secret is Buffett is talking his book by not talking it: Rather than tell investors to buy Berkshire at any price, he tells people to invest passively through an index, which leads to the very market inefficiencies that he profits from.

The great appeal of index investing is its low fees, but like buying a cheap pair of shoes that falls apart after 6 months, investors will find that index investing is the most expensive thing they ever did. Vanguard promotes its rock bottom expense ratios, but what is not published is market impact costs that are incurred when the fund rebalances. Since these rebalances are often announced ahead of time, they are extremely vulnerable to front running. Christophe Bernard, PhD Senior Scientist at Winton Capital Management, estimates that front running costs index investors 0.20% per year. That’s 4 times the official expense ratio of Vanguard’s S&P 500 ETF.

In his latest research, finance professor Hendrik Bessembinder discovered that 58% of stocks don’t even outperform a Treasury bill. This study was based on 26,000 stocks from 1926 to 2015. Just 4% of stocks accounted for all of the $31.8 trillion in gains during this period. That means 96% of stocks were complete garbage. Even worse, shares of unprofitable companies outperform their profitable counterparts, which is why you have a marketplace that is dominated by Twitters and Teslas.

Index investing means buying a box of garbage stocks sprinkled with a few hope and glamour stocks whose price gains are solely a result of underperforming fund managers grasping for quarterly bonuses and retail investors juicing up their portfolios in a doomed attempt to catch up on their retirement targets.

While mom and pop buy a Vanguard index with their $500,000 and get front run all day by proprietary traders, the capitalist televangelist Warren Buffett will continue to actively trade billions while preaching the miracle of buy and hold investing.

“Markets Will Fluctuate”

  
Analysis, Education
#  #  #  #  #  #  #  #  #  #  #  #  #  #  #  #  #  #  #

In the 1927 book “Security Speculation – The Dazzling Adventure,” Laurence H. Sloan repeated the now famous anecdote 1  about J.P.Morgan’s view of the stock markets:

History has it that young man once found himself in the immediate presence of the late Mr. J. P. Morgan. Seeking to improve the golden moment, he ventured to inquire Mr. Morgan’s opinion as to the future course of the stock market. The alleged reply has become classic: “Young man, I believe the market is going to fluctuate.

Fluctuate indeed.

That simple truism seems to been lost to some folks, who were taken aback by yesterday’s market decline. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 274 points, but that sounds worse than it is; in percentage terms the retreat amounted to 1.24 percent. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index fell 38.1 points, or 1.54 percent; the Russell 2000 Index of small cap companies fell 1.78 percent (24.6 points) while the Nasdaq Composite Index had a 1.94 percent (123.2 point) fall.

As Bloomberg News noted, “Evidence is building that the market’s long stretch of tranquility is breaking. The S&P 500 swung at least 1 percent in three of the last six sessions after spending the previous three weeks without a move of more than 0.3 percent.”

The collective question investors are asking is “Why here and now?” It is tempting, and probably correct, to simply declare this the well-known random walk of markets. But rather than leave it at that, let us turn a critical eye to some of the explanations that were circulating. Here they are from least convincing to most . . .

Continues at: The Real Reason Markets Swooned Yesterday

Go to top