Market Report – November 14, 2011
 In the Rear View Mirror:Every major index that we follow surged upward on Friday, erasing their losses from earlier in the week.Greece and Italy looked like they were serious about getting their finances under control; former central banker Lucas Papademos was sworn in as interim prime minister in Greece, following a political crisis that jeopardized their possibly receiving emergency loans. As reported in The Washington Post, “hopeful signs emerged over the weekend from Italy after Premier Silvio Berlusconi bowed to market pressure and resigned. His successor, economist Mario Monti, faces the task of enacting significant reforms aimed at preventing Italy from defaulting on its $2.6 trillion in debts.” Time will tell.
Additional uncertainty is hanging over financial markets as investors and traders await US economic data. Reports on October retail sales, inflation and housing data will be released this week |
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| Market ReportThe Dow Jones Industrial Average (up 1.42%), S&P 500 (up 0.85%), NYSE Composite (up 0.32%) and the NYSE Amex (up 0.33%) were the four positives for the week; the four other indices flashed “red.”The biggest move down was the USX China Index, off 58.50 or -1.14%.
Crude Oil made a significant upward move, +4.73 to $98.99; Gold was +32.20, closing at $1.787.50; the dollar was up slightly… +0.0022 or 0.7273 euros; the 10-year bond fell 1.297 to $99.484 and the 30-year bond was -12.852 to $99.898. The Bottom Line for Stocks…”A Santa Claus Rally Seems Likely” This is a recurring theme… we think stocks will perform well in the final weeks of the year. There is too much encouraging news about earnings and the economy to think that Mr. Bear will take over anytime soon. If sales for Apple’s iPhone 4S are any indication, holiday spending should be better than expected. Some of us have waited for up to three weeks to get our 4S; and with reduced pricing to as low as $100, the iPhone 4 sales have remained strong too…with some reports showing that it was among the top three selling smart phones in October. Consumers seem to have a few more nickels in their pockets than most analysts think…If holiday sales do as well across the board as we think they will, employment should continue to inch ahead for the rest of the year and into the first quarter. The effect on Wall Street is likely to be a classic Santa Claus rally. Research and Editorial Staff |
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