Markets seesaw, ending 2 day rally

Dow started lower & remained under water all day. It lost 26, decliners over advancers 3-2 but NAZ was flat. Bank stocks are having a difficult time finding friends with all the uncertainty about the new regulations. One thing is certain, added fees/taxes will hurt which is taking down the Financial Index.


S&P 500 FINANCIALS INDEX

Value 193.51

Change -2.64

% Change -1.3%

The Alerian MLP Index remained at lower levels, down almost 3 to the 289s. It's still outperforming the averages, but this is turning out to be a tough year for MLPs. Speaking of tough times, REITs sold off taking the index down 3 to the 175s. Junk bond funds were soft while Treasuries sank. The yield on the 10-year Treasury bond jumped 7 basis points to 3.70% taking it into the higher regions for the last 6 months.


Alerian MLP Index --- YTD




Dow Jones REIT Index --- YTD




10-Year Treasury Yld Index - 6 months








Oil & gold were weaker, mostly in sympathy with lower stock markets

CLH10.NYM

Crude Oil Mar 10

..76.98

.. 0.25 ......(0.3%)

GCG10.CMX

..Gold Feb 10

..1,108.80

.. 8.60 ......(0.8%)

Gold Super Cycle Click Here



Housing remains bogged down in the dumps. New research suggests when a home’s value falls below 75% of the amount owed on the mortgage, the owner thinks hard about walking away. Millions are affected. The number who owed more than their homes were worth was virtually nil in mid-2006, but now it's estimated to be 4½M & their numbers are now projected to climb to a peak over 5M by June — about 10% of all with mortgages. The large supply of abandoned homes for sale can keep the housing market depressed for years.

• As values plunge, more homeowners walk away- NYT

Photo: Bloomberg



Things just seem to go from bad to worse for Toyota (TM), the world's largest auto company. The Trans Sec, Ray LaHood, (seen above) told a congressional panel that owners of recalled cars should “stop driving it and take it to a Toyota dealer.” Uh oh! Now he said he "misspoke." That advice should only apply to those owning affected cars or anybody else in doubt. This is turning into a disaster which will benefit the American car companies (or maybe hurt all auto manufacturers). The stock plunged 4.69 to the 73.49 & the chart looks like it is in serious trouble.

•Toyota Pressured by U.S. to Fix Recalled Vehicles; LaHood Retracts Remark


Toyota --- YTD








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Volume was light again, just over 1B shares on NYSE floor. Ben Bernanke was sworn in for a 2nd term (4 more years) but he may be wishing he was not renominated. The jobs report I mentioned earlier is coming on Fri, expectations are for the unemployment rate to continue at 10%. The Dow chart looks weak for the last 10 weeks & the Dow may not get a lift from that report. Cisco (CSCO), a Dow stock, had a good earnings report after hours. The stock is up 27¢ after hours (following a 5¢ gain in regular trading) which should help NAZ at the opening tomorrow.

Cisco sees 'dramatic' sales improvement in 2QAP

Dow Jones Industrials --- 3 months