Daily Market Commentary

The glass half full outlook on yesterday's action was that the S&P 500 and Nasdaq both closed at new all-time highs. A reality check tells us that they both gave up big early gains. This is not a game changer yet, but the action was poor and one of the catalysts was a positive reversal in yields and a midday bond auction did not go well, accelerating the reversals in both stocks and bonds. The dollar was down on the day but it too reversed off deeper morning losses to close at its highs of ...

It was a slow, mixed day on Wall Street on Tuesday as investors await a plethora of data and earnings in the coming week and a half. The Dow lost 96-points on the day and small caps were held back by higher yields, but the Nasdaq and S&P 500 both made new all times highs with their modest gains. The I-fund was down as the dollar rallied again, and bonds (F) were also down on the higher yields.

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The new week started where the prior week ended, with more gains. The Dow closed over 38,000 for the first time ever, but the three big indices actually peaked early yesterday and then floundered and moved sideways for the rest of the day. Meanwhile small caps, which had been left behind this year, took charge yesterday and the Russell 2000 gained about 2%, and the S-fund gained 1.5%. Bonds were up modestly as yields slipped but the 10-year yield found support at a key level.
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Friday was an options expiration day and that big rally was not what we'd normally expect on an expiration day, but the bulls made a statement by pushing the S&P 500 to new all-time highs with that 1.23% gain, but can we trust it? Small caps started out slowly on Friday but came roaring back from an early loss to also gain over 1%. The I-fund was held back as the overseas markets were closed by the time the big gains came in the US market. Bonds managed a small gain as yields reversed down ...

It's been a short but busy week for the stock market. Stocks opened higher yesterday, chopped around for a while, then closed strong and near the highs of the day. They did that despite some stronger than expected employment data which sent yields and the dollar higher - something that has been holding the stock market back recently. The Dow gained 202-points and the Nasdaq led with a 1.35% gain thanks to big tech. Small caps and the I-fund also had a good day while bonds were down slightly ...