Thursday, May 22, 2008

Quiet day for stocks

Following 2 very rough days, today was quiet for stocks. Dow was up 24, advancers about 20% ahead of decliners but NAZ, up 16, had a good day. Oil continues to dominate the news after reaching another record, this one at 135. It closed below 131 in NY as traders cashed in recent profits. But short term forces remain in place, the bulls are in charge of the market. There are signals already that record prices at the pump will bring less driving. The Memorial Day holiday weekend driving will give early signals. The home prices index reported the largest, 3.1%, decline in history (since 1991).

Moody's (MCO) dropped another 2.40. In the last 2 days, the stock has been punished, down 20%, caused by sloppy handling of AAA bond ratings issued by their computers. It's unclear how much damage this mistake has caused or how it may impact bond values going forward. After breaking 13K last year, the Dow have been pretty much living under that level this year. This sideways market may continue, at best, for some time.

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