Dow: +122.80…
Nasdaq: +28.99… S&P: +11.68…
The S&P 500 recouped an early loss, putting the broad index on track to close higher for a fifth straight day after Fed Chairman Powell reiterated the Fed’s willingness to adjust its pace of interest-rate increases if economic conditions weaken.
Powell’s comments also added to optimism that the Fed is looking to avoid a misstep with interest rates if the economy shows any signs of stumbling, a dovish message the Fed has telegraphed in recent weeks.
As we have discussed here, it really does look like the Fed will continue to play nicely in the sandbox going forward. This is very important if we want to keep this market glued together.
The bad news today was retail. Macy’s issued bad numbers for the holiday season and guidance was also crappy. The stock was punished 17%.
Don’t look now, but the Russell 2000 is +7.2% for the year, and the Nazzy is +5.3%, led by tech. The Dow and SPX are up 2.9 and 3.6%.
Energy is still looking good and I’m still looking at the names I mentioned last night but I just don’t know how much I trust this bounce in crude. the chart does look like its the start of a bullish cup & handle. We’ll see how that shakes out.
The big mover today was AMRN which exploded on over 2X normal volume. The stock blew through and closed above its 50-day moving average. Plus 22% for the day. The chart looks great, but the move was attributed to takeover rumors.
The Dow closed right at that big fat round number of 24000 today and the SPX closed within a hair of 2600. These are important levels to watch going forward.
Here are a few names that are stirring that I am watching.
In heartbreaking news, Jeff and Mackenzie Bezos are getting divorced after big Jeff got caught cheating………no prenup.