For 2 months the Financial Index has been just under 200 & more recently broke thru that barrier, but not convincingly. It may be trying again, today's advance was impressive. On the bank upgrades from Goldman, Wells Fargo (WFC) & Dow stock Bank of America (BAC) were up 62¢ & 1.81 respectively.
S&P 500 FINANCIALS INDEX
| Value 198.57 | Change 6.34 | % Change 3.3% |
Bank of America --- 2 weeks
Wells Fargo --- 2 weeks
MLPs & REITs were very strong today. Each index was up about 4, big moves. Junk bond funds were mixed remaining near yearly highs. But Treasuries sold off in the PM. The yield on the 10-year Treasury bond rose (bond prices fell) back to break even for the the day at 3.22%.
Alerian MLP Index --- 3 months
Dow Jones REIT Index --- 3 months
Commodities were strong in the PM. Buyers took oil back over 70 & gold is reaching for new highs. Gold may be feeling the effects of risk averse investors buying it as an inflation hedge. Oil is always difficult to figure, but Iran & its nuclear ambitions have growing importance with the risk that they could choke off the flow of oil from the Persian Gulf.
| CLX09.NYM | Crude Oil Nov 09 | ..70.50 | .. 0.55 ......(0.8%) |
| GCV09.CMX | ..Gold Oct 09 | ..1,016.30 | .. 13.10 ......(1.3%) |
The graph for the ISM data is shown below courtesy of Bloomberg. Going over 50 is significant changing its state from contraction to growth, if that can hold.
ISM Manufacturing Index - 12 months
Bulls view the 2 week pullback in the markets as healthy, they say a little bit of caution was needed. Stocks fell in 7 of the last 8 days encouraging bulls today. However, Dow only pulled back 343 (about 3½% from its best close on Sep 20). Of course, trading volume was light making today's moves less meaningful in understanding where the markets are going. Earnings should be the driving force for the next month with the wild-card Iran lurking in the background.
Dow Jones Industrials --- 3 months
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