Markets higher on unsteady footing

Dow is up 36 as it struggles to gain traction, advancers are barely 3-2 ahead of decliners while NAZ is up 10.

Meanwhile MLPs are having a very good year, the Aleran MLP Index is up 1½ to 203. The chart below shows how well the Alerian MLP Index has performed this year when the Dow has been slipping badly.


MLPs vs DJI --- YTD





Other indices I follow are modestly higher in an unexciting day for stocks.


Consumer confidence fell to 37.7 in Jan from a revised 38.6 in Dec, a record low because of a weak housing sector & a worsening job picture. Consumers are just plain pessimistic, waiting to see signs of improvement.

• Consumer confidence falls again to record low- Reuters

DuPont (DD), a Dow stock, reported a loss in Q4, larger than analyst expectations, down pennies. This has become a routine story in the flow of earnings (losses) reports. Their decade long chart is fairly common for large industrial companies:

• DuPont posts 4Q loss, lowers 2009 forecast- AP

DuPont --- 10 years





An unexciting market is not a lot of fun to watch, but there may be more such days ahead. Dreary earnings reports can not get the better of enthusiastic buyers, the tug of war persists.