Reply #43: 1:54 and still running in place [View All]

Dow 10,930.61 +97.58 (+0.90%)
Nasdaq 2,072.57 +14.17 (+0.69%)
S&P 500 1,221.69 +11.22 (+0.93%)
10-yr Bond 4.319% -0.06
30-yr Bond 4.666% -0.07
NYSE Volume 1,019,086,000
Nasdaq Volume 1,197,912,000


1:30PM : Holding steady at sharply higher levels as technology trails its blue chip counterparts but remains strong across most areas... Computer hardware (+0.9%) has been lifted in part by news of a $10 bln stock buyback program at DELL (40.90 +0.90)...
Software (+0.8%) has also been strong, led in part by strength from Oracle (ORCL 13.41 +0.32) which was upgraded to Buy from Hold by FTN Midwest while disk drive (+0.9%) has been strong amid job cuts (up to 5,500) at Maxtor (MXO 5.89 +0.09) and positive comments from Goldman Sachs about Seagate Technology (STX 18.72 +0.34) and its upcoming (Mar. 7) mid-quarter update... Semiconductor, however, continues to struggle following downgrades on a handful of leading semi cap equipment makers (i.e. AMAT, NVLS and KLAC)... SOX -0.3, NYSE Adv/Dec 2467/756, Nasdaq Adv/Dec 1841/1165

1:00PM : Blue chip indices touch new session highs as buyers rally around a recent drop in oil prices... Crude oil futures have recently fallen to $53.25/bbl (-$0.32) amid growing uncertainty on whether or not OPEC will boost production quotas at its upcoming meeting (Mar 16)... Reports suggest that OPEC will issue a statement on Monday to reassure its intentions to keep the market well-supplied... NYSE Adv/Dec 2407/776, Nasdaq Adv/Dec 1751/1225

12:30PM : Indices are off their highs, but hold on to the bulk of today's gains, with spirited leadership from a number of blue chip industry groups... On the Dow, McDonald's (MCD 33.86 +0.45) has been strong amid positive comments from Smith Barney regarding improved Feb same store sales forecasts while Johnson & Johnson (JNJ 67.36 +0.61) has climbed on news that it will buy Closure Medical (CLSR) for $370 mln...

Hewlett-Packard (HPQ 20.67 -0.14) , however, has been one of just four components under pressure after Prudential recommended investors swap HPQ shares for DELL stock following the latter's $10 bln stock buyback announcement... AIG (64.68 -0.28) has also been under pressure after reports suggest a financial transaction between AIG and Berkshire Hathaway's General Reinsurance unit has attracted the attention of Federal regulators... Other notable movers include AA (1.6%), C (+1.1%), CAT (+1.5%), DD (+1.8%), MMM (+1.5%), UTX (+1.1%) and XOM (+1.2%)...NYSE Adv/Dec 2415/755, Nasdaq Adv/Dec 1703/1234

12:00PM : Market continues to trade at improved levels midday after employment data showed strong job expansion without concerns of inflation... While nonfarm payrolls grew at the fastest rate since Oct. 2004, checking in at 262K (consensus 252K), signs that inflation remains under control, due to an unchanged reading in average hourly wages, has been the driving catalyst behind today's rally...

Lower bond yields have also contributed to the overall positive sentiment as Treasurys, despite initially selling off as the nonfarm payrolls figure was below a more aggressively inflated "whisper" number, have also climbed amid lessened inflation fears... The benchmark 10-year note is up 13 ticks to yield 4.32%... That said, interest-rate sensitive groups, like homebuilding (+2.2%), financial (+1.0%) and utility (+1.9%), have been some of the morning's best performing groups, as evidenced by a new 52-week high in the latter's Dow Jones Index...

Airline (+2.3%), amid oversold conditions and firming fundamentals, has led the charge behind a new 52-week high in the Dow Jones Transportation Average, while a weaker greenback has lent support for materials (+2.3%) stocks, paced by strength in steel (+4.2%) and gold (+2.9%)... The dollar has fallen for the first time in a week, losing nearly 1.0% against both the euro (1.3239) and the yen (104.51) as the jobs data fell shy of some economists' forecasts... Also strong have been energy, despite oil prices stabilizing near $53/bbl, health care, retail, consumer staples and telecom services while gains in hardware, disk drive and software have offset weakness in semiconductor... Chip stocks have been under pressure following downgrades on several leading chip names (i.e. AMAT, NVLS and KLAC)...

Biotech has also been weak following more disappointing Tysabri data from BIIB (-3.2%) and ELN (-5.9%)... Separately, investors also got a read on Jan factory orders and Feb consumer sentiment, both of which came in fairly close to expectations, but neither release had much of an impact on the market... DJTA +1.5, DJUA +1.9, DOT +0.5, Nasdaq 100 +0.7, Russell 2000 +0.5, SOX -0.3, S&P Midcap 400 +0.8, XOI +1.5, NYSE Adv/Dec 2364/754, Nasdaq Adv/Dec 1676/1222


And the buck - look at that chart, big drop followed by a flatline
http://quotes.ino.com/chart/?s=NYBOT_DXY0&v=s

Last trade 82.50 Change -0.78 (-0.94%)

Settle 83.28 Settle Time 00:35

Open 83.33 Previous Close 83.28

High 83.41 Low 82.41