Friday provided quite the finish to a week that began the month of May in the market. If Friday is any sign, it suggests that the money will not go in away in May. How about that 1614 count for the S&P 500? Okay, the Dow crossing over into the 15,000 territory was impressive as well, but, unlike the S&P, it could not hold. So, what should we expect this week?
- With little in the way of economic data on tap next week and earnings season moving into the home stretch, there appears to be little that could derail a move higher.
The above is the obvious thought, but the market has a way of foolin’ ya. Unlike a former US president who said, “ya can’t get fooled agin,” well, trust me, you can, when it comes to the market. As to the current market though, here is some good advice I came across this weekend.
- This is the same rally we’ve had forever. We’re due for a pause, the data’s not that great – just shut up and stay long.
A bit forceful, but point made. Consider the next commentary as advice, as well. It too gets right to the heart of the matter, as far as I am concerned.
- The economy’s slowly improving, earnings are OK, there’s nowhere else to go and – You know what? – sometimes a bullish market is just a bullish market.
It makes sense. The market is what it is, and no matter how much analytical nonsense flows out about it, the reality of it does not change. Just because a bunch of bearish folks cannot find a reason to jump on board, they feel the need to tell the rest of us, it is all an illusion, that it is just a matter of time before the market comes tumbling down for this reason or that. Well, to those who told us last week that the market’s repeated attempts to crack the 1587 level on the S&P meant a probable return to former resistance in the mid-1500 range, I say, what say ye now?
As to your money, working, consider the commentary below as a guide for finding opportunity in the market.
- The key question at this point, with the S&P 500 up more than 13% year to date, is whether more-traditional economically cyclical sectors can begin pulling their weight. The upside so far in 2013 has been led by more “defensive,” bond-like stocks in the utilities, telecommunications, consumer-staples and pharmaceutical industries.
The financials and technology are likely candidates to move. Both have lagged the market spurt and both have the fundamentals to back a move. My perennial money-making favorite in the financials, B of A, is jumping today on news.
- Late on Friday, attorneys general for New York and Delaware who had objected to the Bank of America and a group of investors’ proposed $8.5B settlement over mortgage-backed securities, removed their objection, saying new facts had been uncovered, reports the Wall Street Journal.
The Dow is bouncing around in the red this morning and the S&P is lightly in the green. Profit taking is normal, and that small elite in the Dow is always the prime target, so even if the Dow and the S&P finish in the red today, keep in mind the thought presented in the opening of today’s piece, ” … there appears to be little that could derail a move higher” for the rest of this week, anyway. Then again, the market has a way of foolin’ ya.
Trade in the day; Invest in your life …
