S&P 500 856.56 +2.66%*
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Portfolio Manager's Commentary on Investing and Trading in the U.S. Financial Markets
Indices
S&P 500 856.56 +2.66%
DJIA 8,083.38 +1.32%
NASDAQ 1,652.54 +3.11%
Russell 2000 468.20 +4.0%
Wilshire 5000 8,670.13 +2.89%
Russell 1000 Growth 377.78 +2.11%
Russell 1000 Value 436.42 +3.58%
Morgan Stanley Consumer 518.12 +.50%
Morgan Stanley Cyclical 451.09 +6.65%
Morgan Stanley Technology 401.22 +3.95%
Transports 2,988.99 +1.41%
Utilities 336.78 +.69%
MSCI Emerging Markets 27.53 +2.79%
Sentiment/Internals
NYSE Cumulative A/D Line 21,075 +10.75%
Bloomberg New Highs-Lows Index -82 +19.61%
Bloomberg Crude Oil % Bulls 34.0 +126.7%
CFTC Oil Large Speculative Longs 186,928 +1.12%
Total Put/Call .82 +18.84%
OEX Put/Call .67 -39.09%
ISE Sentiment 133.0 +11.76%
NYSE Arms .49 -14.03%
Volatility(VIX) 36.53 -13.11%
G7 Currency Volatility (VXY) 15.15 -6.88%
Smart Money Flow Index 7,803.57 +1.47%
AAII % Bulls 35.71 -16.29%
AAII % Bears 44.29 +19.51%
Futures Spot Prices
Crude Oil 52.24 -.44%
Reformulated Gasoline 148.10 -.54%
Natural Gas 3.61 -5.10%
Heating Oil 142.88 -1.12%
Gold 881.0 -1.73%
Base Metals 128.92 +6.47%
Copper 207.10 +4.07%
Agriculture 298.04 -1.86%
Economy
10-year US Treasury Yield 2.92% +3 basis points
10-year TIPS Spread 1.35% -5 basis points
TED Spread 96.0 unch.
N. Amer. Investment Grade Credit Default Swap Index 182.50 -5.83%
Emerging Markets Credit Default Swap Index 534.42 -3.81%
Citi US Economic Surprise Index +17.70 +256.64%
Fed Fund Futures imply 78.0% chance of no change, 22.0% chance of 25 basis point cut on 4/29
Iraqi 2028 Govt Bonds 50.75 +.31%
4-Wk MA of Jobless Claims 657,300 -.10%
Average 30-year Mortgage Rate 4.87% +9 basis points
Weekly Mortgage Applications 1,250,600 +4.71%
Weekly Retail Sales -.80%
Nationwide Gas $2.05/gallon +.01/gallon
US Heating Demand Next 7 Days 10.0% above normal
ECRI Weekly Leading Economic Index 107.90 +1.22%
US Dollar Index 85.79 +1.93%
Baltic Dry Index 1,478 -3.90%
CRB Index 227.88 +.70%
Best Performing Style
Mid-cap Value +5.06%
Worst Performing Style
Large-cap Growth +2.11%
Leading Sectors
REITs +14.21%
Banks +13.91%
Airlines +11.86%
Gaming +11.28%
Insurance +8.17%
Lagging Sectors
Foods -.08%
Telecom -1.25%
Drugs -2.57%
Gold -8.81%
Education -10.59%
Bloomberg:
- Howard Atkins, CFO of Wells Fargo(WFC), says Wells is gaining in mortgage market. (video)
- Buy ‘Cyclical’ Stocks as Worst Is Past, Goldman Says.
- US consumers are regaining confidence, setting the stage for a rebound in spending later this year, according to Larry Miller, an RBC Capital Markets analyst. RBC’s CASH Index, short for Consumer Attitudes and Spending by Household, showed the first year-over-year increase in April since August 2007. The gauge, which was released today, rose to 38.3 from 29.5 last April. “We’re near an inflection point in consumer spending,” Miller wrote today. Spending typically recovers six months after confidence hits bottom. Forty-four percent of consumers plan to sp end more on dining out and other forms of “everyday entertainment” once the economy improves, the survey found. Only travel and vacations, at 48%, was more popular among six categories included in the survey.
- DealReporter says Oracle(ORCL) may be interested in acquiring (DOX) according to sources.
- Google(GOOG) should exceed Q1 consensus estimates, says Piper Jaffray. Piper believes Google will exceed the Q1 consensus EPS estimate of $4.95 and expects revenue to be down 3-4% quarter-over-quarter, better than the Street’s expectation of down 5%. Piper reiterated its Buy on the stock.
Wall Street Journal:
CNBC:
- Robert Doll, global chief investment officer at BlackRock Inc.(BLK), said he is advising investors to shift money from safer assets such as US Treasuries into buying equities. “The worst of the recession is in the rear-view mirror,” Doll said.
- You've heard all the gloom and doom about this recession. Now here's some good news: the economic recovery could happen much sooner—and be much stronger—than anyone thought possible. Suddenly, a small but growing group of private-sector economists is disputing the idea that the recession will drag on for months and that the rebound will be as weak as those following the the 1991 and 2001 downturns.
LA Times:
- LA starts buying up foreclosed homes with federal aid.
FINalternatives:
Business Wire:
Telegraph:
Guardian:
Kommersant:
- OAO Mobile TeleSystems plans to start sales of two BlackBerry phone models to retail customers across Russia this month, citing Mikhail Shamolin, CEO of the mobile operator.
National Post:
Folha de S. Paulo:
- Iraqi Planning Minister Ali Ghalib Baban proposed that Petroleo Brazileiro SA, Brazil’s state-owned oil company, build a refinery in the Middle Eastern country. Iraq needs to increase its refining capacity by 500,000 barrels of oil a day and a partnership with Petrobras would allow it to raise capacity by a minimum of 200,000 barrels a day, citing Baban. Petrobras is “seriously” studying the offer, Baban said.
China Economic Net:
- Telecom equipment makers cashing in on 3G issuance.
Straits Times:
- Singapore’s economy will probably contract more than currently forecast as exports slump amid the global recession, citing Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. The government will have to cut its current estimate that the economy will contract in a range of 2% to 5% this year, Lee said. Still, the decline is likely to be less than 10%, he said.
Style Underperformer:
Large-cap Growth (+1.92%)
Sector Underperformers:
Education (-2.62%), Utilities (-.89%) and Drugs (-.62%)
Stocks Falling on Unusual Volume:
TU, WMT, ASIA, HOTT, EQY, SGR, HPT and ANF
Stocks With Unusual Put Option Activity:
1) TXT 2) TCK 3) PCAR 4) LDK 5) SGR