Bulls vs Bears

Bulls vs Bears.  The old-as-time battle between the legendary Wall Street spirit animals continued yesterday with Bulls on top… but it was not clear who would win earlier in the session.  Stocks continued their rocky path yesterday starting the session on a strong leg but gave way to mid-session selling which was ultimately quashed by…

Up, Down, Repeat

Up, Down, Repeat.  Yesterday’s markets could have been a featured ride at your favorite theme park as it catapulted investors straight up, wrenched them straight down, only to bounce them up again.  Yeah, it was that kind of day.  Metaphors aside, markets started the day on a very positive leg with economic numbers coming in…

Slippery Slope

Slippery slope.  Markets slipped once again in Friday’s session despite a solid read on GDP, which continues to show strength in the US economy.  Disappointing earnings calls from Amazon and Alphabet/Google were the primary drivers of the broader selling.  Friday’s session seemed to typify trading for this quarter’s earnings season thus far in which top…

Best Foot Forward

Best foot forward.  Markets behaved the way they are expected to yesterday responding to a series of strong earnings reports before the bell.  The rally was actually sparked on Wednesday as Microsoft and Tesla announced strong earnings after the market closed.  The positive sentiment carried the markets through the overseas sessions giving way for another…

No Quarter

No quarter.  Markets took no prisoners yesterday as equities continued their recent rout with some indices erasing all of their 2018 gains.  Investors have been dealing with the convergence of many pent up fears regarding the economy and the markets, many of which reared their heads yesterday.  Yesterday’s pre-market earnings were pretty much on par…

Anything Goes!

Anything goes!  Yesterday’s session was not one for those prone to motion sickness as stocks sank early on only to rip (trade up) later in the day and close slightly down.  The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down as much as 549 points after the open but ultimately rallied late in the session with a…

Digging In

Digging in.  In response to massive Chinese government jawboning over the weekend, Chinese equity markets shot up and dazzled like a firework but failed to win over US investors.  All except the NASDAQ, which was the only one of the major indexes that managed to post a positive close in yesterday’s US session.  With very…

Back to Square One

Back to square one.  Last week was not necessarily one for the record books but it was certainly one fraught with lots of extreme movement for very little return.  The major equity indices all ended the week roughly unchanged as the Dow Jones managed a small gain on Friday while the other indices traded off….

Stormy Weather!

Stormy weather!  “Don’t know why there is no sun up in the sky”… declares the 1933 song and many stock investors in yesterday’s session.  The rout in equities can be attributed to a number of stimuli including weak markets in Asia, Mnuchin backing out of the big Saudi Investment conference, interest rates, the EU’s ongoing…

Hawk Squawk

Hawk squawk.  There is an old Wall Street line (yes we have many of them) that says “don’t fight the Fed”.  What it means is that if the Federal Reserve is easing rates, bonds and eventually stocks will rally.  It is worth stating the obvious that if the Fed is tightening credit (aka pressing on…