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Friday, May 24, 9:52 AM
AUM at the year-old Global X Top Guru Holdings ETF (GURU) are up more than 1,000% YTD as its strong performance (up more than 40% since inception vs. about 30% for the SPY) lures investors. The fund invests by studying 13F filings and rebalances quarterly. Other funds based on hedge fund positions - ALFA and QAI - are also trailing GURU.
Comment!
Friday, May 24, 7:01 AM
Stock index futures are shaky after an ugly session in Japan. Following its 7.3% plunge on Thursday, shares bounced nearly 4% as the yen resumed sinking. This soon reversed and shares plunged anew - dropping about 7% from their session high. The Nikkei eventually eked out a small gain as the yen (FXY) closed stronger again, dollar/yen falling 0.6% to ¥101.46. S&P 500 (SPY) futures -0.5%, Nasdaq 100 (QQQ) -0.5%. Japan: EWJ -2.6%, DXJ -3.7% premarket. Europe (FEZ) -0.5%.
2 Comments
Thursday, May 23, 11:05 PM
The smart money is selling, writes Ukarlewitz, commenting on the plummeting Smart Money/Dumb Money Confidence Index from SentimenTrader. The measure has a reasonable track record over the last few years at pointing out market tops and bottoms, and it's screaming "top" right now. Whether it's a 5% correction or something worse remains to be seen, but insiders see something bad coming and they're bailing out.
18 Comments
Thursday, May 23, 10:19 AM
Off the lows. Forty-five minutes into the session finds stocks posting just moderate losses. S&P 500 (SPY -0.7%), Nasdaq 100 (QQQ -0.4%) - with Apple a notable gainer, +0.7%. George Soros' reflexitivity: Worry of tapering sends stocks lower, thereby lessening chances of tapering.
2 Comments
Thursday, May 23, 6:48 AM
S&P 500 futures (SPY) -1%, Nasdaq 100 (QQQ) -1% following the Nikkei's 7.3% crash overnight. In Europe, the Stoxx 50 (FEZ) -2.2%. Shanghai fell 1.2% as its PMI slipped into contraction territory for the first time in 7 months. Treasurys catch a bid, the 10-year yield off 5 bps to 1.99%, TLT +0.8% premarket.
12 Comments
Wednesday, May 22, 2:10 PM
Stocks had already shed their Bernanke-testimony gains from this morning and they head even lower following the release of the FOMC minutes showing a "number" willing to begin tapering QE as soon as the next policy meeting. S&P 500 (SPY -0.4%), Nasdaq 100 (QQQ -0.6%). The dollar (UUP +0.4%) moves to a new session-high, and Treasurys (TLT -1.3%) continue to sell off.
11 Comments
Wednesday, May 22, 10:09 AM
Stocks pop higher (SPY +0.6%) as Bernanke's prepared remarks for Congress suggest an increase in QE is as likely as a "tapering." Gold (GLD +2.6%) and Silver (SLV +3.8%) get a charge, and bonds (TLT +0.5%) move higher. It's green across the board, but not participating is crude oil (USO -0.4%). Watch live here.
1 Comment[On the Move]
Wednesday, May 22, 6:52 AM
Stock index futures (SPY, QQQ, DIA) are slightly in the green ahead of Bernanke's 10 ET appearance before Congress. Europe is moderately lower and Asia was mostly lower - the exception of course being Japan where the BOJ now promises to stomp down any restiveness in JGBs where yields are doing something they haven't done in years ... rise.
3 Comments
Tuesday, May 21, 3:34 PM
Major hedge funds have suddenly turned bullish, reportedly buying massive amounts of OTC call options on the S&P 500 (SPY). The purchases have been large enough to send the VIX (VXX) higher even as stocks continue to gain. An important milestone - the implied volatility of S&P calls is now greater than that of puts, a true rarity since 2007.
19 Comments
Tuesday, May 21, 1:08 PM
That QE taper may end up being a QE expansion as FRBNY President Bill Dudley tells a gathering in Japan the uncertain economic outlook has him unsure if the next move will be up or down. He worries about investor over-reaction to a "normalization" of policy and suggests the FOMC may need to update what it needs to see to move in that direction. Stocks like the "up" talk, the S&P 500 (SPY +0.4%) at a fresh session high.
29 Comments[Breaking News, U.S. Economy]
Tuesday, May 21, 8:49 AM
Exponential rapidly rising or falling markets usually go further than you think, but they do not correct by going sideways," is #4 of Bob Farrell's "Market Rules to Remember." Channeling that, BAML's Steve Suttmeier sees stocks continuing their run with risks of a topping-out not arriving unti late summer. He's most bullish on industrials (XLI) - particularly "oversold" EXPD, DE, CAT, FDX - and also thinks financials (XLF) will remain market leaders.
4 Comments
Tuesday, May 21, 6:58 AM
Stock index futures (SPY, QQQ, DIA) are little-changed following yesterday's quiet action. Europe is moderately lower at midday and Asia closed down a bit - though Japan squeezed out a small gain.
Comment!
Tuesday, May 21, 5:40 AM
Goldman Sachs lifts its forecasts for the S&P 500 (SPY), as David Kostin and company now say they expect the index to gain 5% by year-end to 1,750, 9% to 1,900 in 2014, and 10% to 2,100 in 2015. The rationale: expectations of above-trend real GDP growth beginning next year (Mr. Evans' "escape velocity" ?) coupled with P/E multiple expansion to 16x. Furthermore, dividends should rise ~30% over the next two years, bolstering the firm's claim that dividend-paying equities (DVY) are one of the only places U.S. investors can look to for income-generation. Some of GS's dividend picks, as listed on MarketWatch: Mattel (MAT), Ford (F), Philip Morris (PM), Walgreen (WAG), Chevron (CVX), U.S. Bancorp (USB), GE, Western Union (WU), Dow Chemical (DOW), and AT&T (T).
11 Comments
Monday, May 20, 1:28 PM
Dovish Chicago Fed chief Charles Evans sounds constructive on the economy saying it's performing quite well and that Fed policy should hit "escape velocity" in 2014. Stocks give up their small gains, SPY now flat and the QQQs -0.4%, even with a 1.8% gain from Apple.
33 Comments
Monday, May 20, 6:57 AM
Stock index futures (SPY, [[QQQ], DIA) are flat with Europe mixed midday and most of Asia nicely higher overnight. The big moves of note are the precious metals, gold off 1.1% to 1,350, silver off 3.6% to $21.54.
Comment!
Sunday, May 19, 9:52 AM
There is no precedent for the current market, writes The Fat Pitch. Consider: 1) The S&P (SPY) has been up 56 of 88 trading sessions this year 2) It's up an uncorrected 24% since the post-election low - the longest streak in over 3 decades 3) The Nasdaq (QQQ) is on pace for a 7th straight up month, an occurrence with a 3-in-100 probability. Long term it's bullish, writes Ukarlewitz, as this sort of strength is rarely the end of a trend. Short term? Stay nimble.
51 Comments