Last night the Asian stock indexes all surged higher. The Nikkei 225 Index(Japan) was the major winner closing higher by 1.22 percent. The Hang Seng Index(Hong Kong), and the Shanghai Index(China) both finished higher by less than 0.5 percent. When the Shanghai Index closes sharply higher traders should watch for the leading commodity stocks to react well in the U.S. market.
This morning the chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank, Ben Bernanke, will be testifying in front of the U.S. Senate. The stock market is likely going to be on hold waiting for Chairman Bernanke to give bullish clues that the economy is fine. Tomorrow, Chairman Bernanke will appear before the House of Representatives where he will see and meet his favorite congressman Ron Paul. That will certainly be an interesting showdown as it always is.
The Saudi Arabian stock market is trading lower by 7.0 percent today as problems and protests continue to escalate in the region. Bahrain, Libya, and other nations remain under stress as violence continues to grow. These problems in the Middle East and North Africa will continue to effect the price of oil which has been the driving force of the stock markets over the past week.
This morning April crude is trading higher by 0.80 cents to $97.76 a barrel. At this time $100.00 a barrel oil seems to stall out the stock market rally. Meanwhile, gasoline in the United States is at its highest point since Hurricane Katrina. The average price of regular unleaded gasoline in the U.S. is now $3.39 a gallon. Traders and investors can watch United States Gasoline Fund(NYSE:UGA) which is trading around its 52 week highs at just over $47.00 a share. The United States Oil Fund(NYSE:USO) is trading higher before the opening bell by 0.40 cents to $39.54 a share. The 52 week high for USO is $40.60 made on February 24, 2011.
Nicholas Santiago
InTheMoneyStocks.com
