Friday, April 25, 2008

Stocks up a little

After one of those wobbly days, stocks generally finished up. Dow was up 43, advancers ahead of decliners 3-2 but NAZ was down 6 not helped by MSFT down 2 after its earnings announcement. Even with mostly sideways movement during the week, the modest rally in the last couple of days gave the Dow about 100 point gain for the week. Volume continues light at under 1.2B, one of the lightest days of the year. The Alerian Master Limited Partnership Index has been performing well recently, up 10 in the last couple of weeks.

Oil finished at 118.24 up 2.40 on worries about supplies, a common worry in recent days. Consumer confidence fell for the 5th month in a row, to the lowest level in 26 years. The last time it was this low, there was stagflation to worry about in 1982. Next week, the earnings season will begin winding down. So far, the markets have handled them well.

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