Stocks were up on mixed retail sales for Mar. Dow gained 54, advancers over decliners 2-1 & NAZ was up 29 (probably helped by traders betting on a higher purchase price for Yahoo (YHOO)). Volume continues light, just over 1.2B. Retailers were strong following favorable news by Walmart (WMT) & Costco (COST) while negative news by many other retailers was ignored. Retailers may have benefited by the extreme oversold condition for the group. Financials, especially banks, were weak again. The S&P 500 is heading for a down week.
Gas & diesel prices hit new records & oil remains over 110. The pump price for gas is 3.36, another record. Ben Bernanke, the FED Chairman, said regulators must move to prevent a future financial crisis from occurring while they battle this one threatening to plunge the country into recession. During the last 3 months, Dow has been range-bound between 12 & 12½K. More sideways action is in order.
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