There are lots of news this weekend. Besides the latest development in Egypt, coal stocks should attract some attention in the new week. We'll take a look at these in our Sector Watch.
Last weekend, in my Market Forecast, we discussed:
"For the new week, lots more earnings reports are coming in. Some notable ones are...
There are some pretty important earnings on Monday, ie. HAL, MCD, AXP, TXN, VMW, which could set the tone for the week. We'll see if last week's selling in GOOG and AAPL off of strong earnings is a change in the sentiment. The market has rallied for 3 months straight and the risk is now on the upside, although, undoubtedly, there are still going to be some pops on strong earnings. Wednesday and Thursday should be quite interesting as some potential big movers are due to report (NFLX, POT, PCP, AMZN, GMCR, SNDK, RVBD). On the downside, Nasdaq's immediate support is its 30-day MA. Below that, it should test 2650. SPX is still above its 10-day MA. Below the daily MAs, 1260 to 1250 should find some support."
For most of the week, earnings did capture the market's focus. On Monday, the market floated higher. However, after the market VMW and AXP sold off after reporting earnings. On Tuesday, the market was weak in the morning, but, rallied back in the last hour to end flat. The market traded higher on Wednesday as strong earnings continued to come in, including ATI. After the market, both NFLX and QCOM delivered strong quarters. On Thursday, the market kept testing the recent resistance (SPX 1300 and Dow 12,000), but, was not able to break through. After the market, AMZN disappointed with its quarterly results. On Friday, the market sold off, as the situation in Egypt escalated.
For the week, the Dow was down 48.14 points; SPX fell 7.01 points; Nasdaq slipped 2.65 points. Oil and gold were sliding down during the week, but, both bounced on Friday. Oil actually ended the week slightly up, while gold still ended lower. At the time of this writing, Asian markets were mixed. Japan and Hong Kong were down, but, China (Shanghai) traded higher. Here's how the US market looks after Friday's close:
SPX
On Friday, SPX lost 23.2 points to close at 1276.34. It closed below 1280 and below its 20-day MA. Its MACD fell.
Nasdaq
Nasdaq dropped 68.39 points to close at 2686.89. It closed below its 10-day MA. The MACD went down.
Friday's selloff took Nasdaq below its 30-day MA, while SPX was able to close above. VIX popped above 20. For the new week...
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