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Nice Gains Now Watch Gov't Reports to Sustain Gain

Jul. 08, 2010 7:05 AM ET
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Steady buying gave the S&P 500 a gain of more than 3%, its best single-session percentage advance in more than a month, and put the Dow back above 10,000.

The climb came without any clear catalyst.
  • A positive mood permeated trade for the entire session
  • There weren't any major company announcements or economic releases to drive buyers to action
  • Lack of headlines initially kept a cap on trading volume
  • Stocks finished at session highs
The Volatility Index (VIX) fell for its fourth straight session. A 9% drop today has it down approximately 22% over the past four sessions. Does this mean the stock market will now become less skiddish and more predictable?

Stock futures dipped Thursday as investors pause after a big two-day rally to prepare for key reports on the jobs market and retail sales.

High unemployment and slow growth in consumer spending have been the biggest impediments to a strong, sustained recovery. So Thursday's weekly government report on initial jobless claims and retailers' reports on monthly sales will be closely watched to see if recent trends reverse.

Announcements Today
Watch Today to see how the market will take us with announcements. Three things to watch today:

  • Retail- expectations here are high!
  • Jobs- look for a drop in unemployment to 460,000 anything higher could have a bearish influence
  • Oil- a draw of -2.3 million barrels is expected this is bullish, but lower could mean bearish influence so justwatch these reports
Double Dip Recession?
There has been much talk about the possibility of going into a double dip recession but this is something that is not real common. In fact, David L Templeton points out that there are four things we need to preceed our U.S. recession. This has been the case since 1950.
  • A rise in interest rates
  • An inverting yield curve
  • Increasing Oil Prices
  • Falling units profit for US nonfinancial companies
He goes on to write in his article that we have had none of these.

Watch the markets, listen to the news and have a greattrading day!









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