Monday, April 4, 2011

Higher markets on late day buying

Stock averages were hugging break even all day. Dow finished up 23 (eking out a new 2½ year high), advancers 15% ahead of decliners & NAZ slid pocket change Bank stocks were mushy, ending a little lower.

S&P 500 FINANCIALS INDEX

Value	221.32
Change	-0.16 (-0.1%)

The Alerian MLP Index inched a fraction higher to 382 while the REIT slipped chump change in the 337s. Junk bond funds crawled higher as did Treasuries, the yield on the 10 year Treasury remained flattish at 3.42%. The excitement in Treasuries was the 6 month bill rate which declined to a record low as the Treasury reduced sales of short-term securities while administration & Congress wrangle over budget cuts & raising the debt limit. The rate dropped as low as 3 basis points to 0.1099%. The prior record low of 0.1109% was set in Nov 2009. Oil fluctuated near the highest level in 30 months ($108+) as Libyan rebels fought loyalists at the oil port of Brega. Gold is closing in on its record highs above $1440.

JPMorgan Chase Capital XVI (AMJ)

Treasury yields:

U.S. 3-month		0.04%
U.S. 2-year		0.76%
U.S. 10-year		3.42%

CLK11.NYM

...Crude Oil May 11

...108.49

...

0.55 (0.5%)

GCJ11.CMX

....Gold Apr 11

.........1,433.00

...

4.90

(0.3%)

Techs were weak following a report showing lower chip sales. But NAZ was also hurt by Apple (AAPL) falling 3+ to 341. The stock has been flat for almost 3 months even though most analysts have target prices of 400-450. Competition may be nipping away at AAPL. I saw the Dell (DELL) new tablet which combines a tablet in a netbook case. It looks good & gives the user the function of a Win7 (with a 320GB hard drive) netbook along with the tablet platform. Advantages of this combination are understood by some consumers. AAPL has been skyrocketing on rapid sales growth & high profit margins which will suffer if competition grows in strength.

Apple Inc. (AAPL)

Prices at the pump keep climbing. Yesterday they were $3.66, only 45¢ below the record set in 2008. The summer driving season is still a couple of months away.

	Regular	Mid	Premium	Diesel	85	**E85 MPG/BTU adjusted price
Current Avg.	$3.662	$3.800	$3.927	$3.985	$3.089	$4.065
Yesterday Avg.	$3.645	$3.782	$3.912	$3.978	$3.074	$4.045
Week Ago Avg.	$3.584	$3.728	$3.857	$3.960	$3.033	$3.991
Month Ago Avg.	$3.493	$3.621	$3.750	$3.843	$2.913	$3.834
Year Ago Avg.	$2.826	$3.001	$3.109	$2.977	$2.331	$3.067

Source: AAA

Trading was very light with traders waiting for earnings season. Dow & the S&P 500 wavered near highs since 2008 while volume on the NYSE floor was a mere ¾B. The MLP index could set a new record any day with a light blow from a following wind. Seeking Alpha just published my article on Brown-Foreman, a Dividend Aristocrat with famous liquors (i.e. Jack Daniel's, Southern Comfort, etc.) & an outstanding growth record over its 140 year history. After today's trading, some might seek comfort with its products.

http://seekingalpha.com/article/261706-brown-forman-a-growth-stock-to-drink-to