Markets waver, looking for guidance

Without encouraging news, Dow slipped 18, advancers over decliners better than 3-2 & NAZ gained 9. Dow stayed in a narrow trading range, within 30 points of break even. Banks did little. Below I added a chart for JPMorgan (JPM), Dow stock, a bank in better financial shape than many others. The stock is back where it began 3 months ago while Dow has been advancing.

S&P 500 FINANCIALS INDEX

Value 196.98

Change -0.23

% Change -0.1%

JP Morgan --- 3 months





MLPs continued with their sluggish behavior of late. The Alerian MLP Index fell almost 1 to the 266s but the Dow Jones REIT Index gained 2.72. Junk bond funds were mixed to higher. The yield on the Treasury 10-year bond continued higher, up 5 basis points to 3.32%.

Alerian MLP Index --- 2 months




Dow Jones REIT Index - 2 months





Commodities were generally weaker as shown with oil. But gold continues its charge to new records.


COMMODITY FUTURES

	VALUE	CHANGE	% CHANGE
Oil	76.71	-1.66	-2.1%
Gold	1,214.80	14.60	1.2%

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GLD (ETF) --- 3 months





The economic recovery gained traction in late fall with shoppers spending a bit more & factories bumping up production. This assessment by the Federal Reserve marked its most upbeat view since the economy tumbled 2 years ago. The FED's new snapshot of business barometers found that conditions have generally improved since the last report in late Oct. The main challenge for the FED is to sustain the fledgling rebound, especially after the benefits of gov support fade next year. This lukewarm view of the economic recovery kept the lid on markets advancing today. Floor volume on the NYSE was light at just over 1B shares.

Dow Jones Industrials - 2 months