MARKET COMMENTARY: for Friday, 28-Mar-2008
Commentary posted 27-Mar-2008 at 17:30 CT
Thursday's Action:
On a day where all major U.S. indices closed down for the session, the tech-heavy Nasdaq posted the largest decline due to the disappointing earnings from Oracle. Major overseas markets have posted mostly higher results for Thursday. London's FTSE was up 1.01%, Frankfurt's DAX closed up 1.37%, and Paris' CAC finished up 0.92% today. Japan's Nikkei was down 0.80%; Hong Kong's Hang Seng closed up 0.21%, and Sydney's All Ordinaries Index finished down 0.05% today. Market breadth was negative with NYSE declining issues over advancing issues by 1.65, and down volume over up volume by 2.77; Nasdaq declining issues over advancing issues by 1.27, and down volume over up volume by 4.57. Leading sectors were Hospitals, +1.27% and Utilities, +0.60%. Laggards were Broker Dealers, -4.04% and Hardware, -2.85%. Nasdaq 100 futures closed -18.25 pts lower to settle at 1792.00, while the S&P's settled -5.60 pts lower at 1329.80.The Short Term Outlook; 1-5 Days:
Today's price action favors making lower lows tomorrow.
The Hourly Charts:
The OEX dropped below the 50% RSI line. That's typical in an uptrend.
Futures Market Focus:
A second oil pipeline was bombed in Iraq this morning, elevating supply concerns despite Iraq's oil minister noting that oil exports and drilling operations will not be affected. Crude finished the day with a $1.68 jump to $107.58 per barrel.
Friday'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 1336 and then 1342. Support lies at 1323 and then 1317.
Friday's Reports:
A bevy of Fed representatives are scheduled to speak tomorrow. Minneapolis Fed President Stern will be discussing the U.S. economic outlook in London (8:00 AM ET). Cleveland Fed President Pianalto conducts a speech at the Univ. of Dayton in OH (12:00 PM ET). Atlanta Fed President Lockhart is set to discuss the U.S. economic outlook in TN (12:20 PM ET).Charts and data appearing in today's column are courtesy of:
StockCharts.com
FutureSource.com
SchaeffersResearch.com