Thursday, April 3, 2008

Markets are giving back recent gains

Markets are pulling back; Dow is down 42, decliners ahead of advancers 3-2 & NAZ declined 14. The Labor Dept reported jobless claims jumped 38K last week, an unexpectedly high number. Claims are at the highest level in 2½ years. Congress is getting more testimony from Bernanke, head of the FED, concerning the demise of Bear Stearns & the FED's role in keeping the markets quiet. Jamie Dimon, CEO of JP Morgan (JPM), a Dow stock, down 62¢, said they wouldn't have bought Bear Stearns without the FED's help. Not sure much new will be learned but this is a good chance for members of the committee to get national TV exposure.

Financials are leading the decline. Banks & REITs are lower although the MLP index is up 1.60. Research in Motion (RIMM), following yesterday's optimistic report about selling more Blackberrys, is up 6.60. Markets look like they will repeat prior weeks performance, selling off after a sharp gain. With the focus on testimony in Washington today, tough to see an up day.

No comments: