Stocks rebound after steep morning losses

Buyers in the PM limited the loss for the Dow to only 53 at the close, decliners ahead of advancers by a more modest 15% & NAZ fell 1+. The Financial Index tumbled more than 3 in the first hour of trading, but PM buying reduced damage. Below the chart for the Financial Index is another for JP Morgan (JPM), a Dow stock, representative of a highly regarded bank. Like the Financial Index, it has been treading water for over 6 months making the bull's case for the stock market difficult to understand.

S&P 500 FINANCIALS INDEX

Value 196.03

Change -0.64

% Change -0.3%

JP Morgan --- 1 year





Like stocks, the Alerian MLP sold off badly at the opening but recovered 4 from the lows to end up 1.82 in the 293s & taking it further above the 190 plateau it has been on for almost 2 weeks. The Dow Jones REIT Index was up fractionally taking it essentially to the 181 Sep high. There is more excitement at REITs with the battle over General Growth & how much it's worth assuming it can emerge from bankruptcy. Junk bond funds were mixed again. Treasuries remained higher, the yield on the 10-year Treasury bond fell 5 basis points to 3.64%.

Alerian MLP Index --- YTD




Dow Jones REIT Index --- YTD





Oil followed the stock markets lower, but gold did well with investors looking for a "safe" investment.

CLJ10.NYM

..Crude Oil Apr 10

..78.10

.. 1.90 ......(2.4%)

GCH10.CMX

..Gold Mar 10

..1,107.80

.. 11.30 ......(1.0%)

Gold Super Cycle Link! Click Here

A new proposal by the administration would prohibit a referral to foreclosure until a borrower is evaluated & found ineligible for Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) or reasonable contact efforts have failed. But this proposal is just a proposal. Presently, lenders can initiate foreclosure proceedings on any loan that hasn't been submitted for HAMP eligibility & foreclosure litigation can proceed while borrowers are under review for the program or even in a trial modification. I'm not sure banks will take this one lying down.

•Obama May Ban All Foreclosures Without Review by Loan-Modification Program



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Little was expected from the Health care summit & it produced little agreement. The storm around troubled Toyota has quieted a bit with attention switching to health care. Greek's debt problems keep growing taking the € below $1.35 (down from a recent high of $1.51). The European Union is forcing harsh cutbacks in troubled countries (such as Greece, Ireland & Portugal) as Greece is looking at another credit down grade which would make matters even worse. Stocks recovered after Dow began the day down 200. But it remains lower YTD following season when an attempted rally did not succeed.

Dow Jones Industrials --- 1 week




Dow Jones Industrials --- YTD