MARKET COMMENTARY: for Thursday, 27-Mar-2008
Commentary posted 26-Mar-2008 at 19:30 CT
Wednesday's Action:
There was a smorgasbord of market-moving news today, so the Dow's second straight decline may have been nothing more than reaction to the recent rally. Major overseas markets have posted mostly lower results for Wednesday. London's FTSE was down 0.50%, Frankfurt's DAX closed down 0.54%, and Paris' CAC finished down 0.33% today. Japan's Nikkei was down 0.30%; Hong Kong's Hang Seng closed up 0.68%, and Sydney's All Ordinaries Index finished up 1.22% today. Market breadth was negative with NYSE declining issues over advancing issues by 1.36, and down volume over up volume by 2.18; Nasdaq declining issues over advancing issues by 1.18, and down volume over up volume by 3.17. Leading sectors were Oil Services, +2.82% and Gold, +2.76%. Laggards were Airlines, -5.88% and Banks, -4.01%. Nasdaq 100 futures closed -15.75 pts lower to settle at 1810.25, while the S&P's settled -16.00 pts lower at 1335.40.The Short Term Outlook; 1-5 Days:
Today's price action favors making lower lows tomorrow, but the S&P's
have a better chance of closing higher on the day.
The Hourly Charts:
The OEX found support at the 50% RSI line. That's typical in an uptrend.
Futures Market Focus:
Gold was buoyed by a dismal day in the equities market and the U.S. dollar's decline against its major foreign rivals. Gold for April delivery surged $14.20, or 1.5%, to settle at $949.20 an ounce. Other metals followed suit, with silver, platinum, and copper closing higher.
Thursday's Look-Ahead:
The 60-mn SPX chart below shows the StochRSI indicator in the BUY zone. For tomorrow, resistance for the S&P's comes in at 1359 and then 1361. Support lies at 1344 and then 1337.
Thursday's Reports:
The final revision to fourth quarter GDP and the weekly new unemployment claims are both set for release at 8:30 AM ET. Economists expect that GDP will be unrevised at +0.6; the report is not expected to be a market mover. Jobless claims are expected to dip to 360,000 from 378,000.Charts and data appearing in today's column are courtesy of:
StockCharts.com
FutureSource.com
SchaeffersResearch.com