"The major markets were up early and maintained strong momentum
throughout the day," said Schaeffer's Senior Equity Analyst Joe
Bell as the
Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI)
hit a new record high en route to a second straight winning day.
"Although we didn't get any certainty about the Cyprus situation,
that country's parliament rejected conditions of the proposed Euro
zone bailout. Most investors don't seem too worried about this
situation, as equities continue to churn higher."
Continue reading for more on today's market, including
:
- Our Senior Trading Analyst Bryan Sapp on
the anxiety
surrounding the Federal Reserve's announcement; plus, a closer
look at the technical performance of Murphy Oil Corporation (
MUR
).
- Facebook (
FB
)
gets hit
with a bevy of short-term calls.
- Our Weekly Contrarian: Microsoft (
MSFT
) is getting
weighed down
by its consumer efforts, but option players remain
optimistic.
plus...
- The markets shake off the early week blahs for a win, the
Federal Reserve keeps its stimulus in place, and how bullish
option traders surrounded online game maker Zynga (
ZNGA
) today.
The
Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI)
blew off the doldrums from earlier this week to post its second
straight win, hitting a new all-time high of 14,546.82 in
mid-afternoon activity. The Dow gained nearly 56 points, or 0.4%,
to finish at 14,511.73. The 30-member Dow saw 24 of its members
advance, led by Cola-Cola (
KO
), which climbed 1.4%. The six decliners were paced for the second
straight day by Caterpillar (CAT), which fell 1.5%.
The
S&P 500 Index (SPX)
also gained, picking up 10 points, or 0.7%, to close at 1,558.71.
The
Nasdaq Composite (COMP)
finished at 3,254.19, up 25 points, or 0.8%.
The
CBOE Market Volatility Index (VIX)
dropped nearly 2 points, or 12%, to close at 12.67.
A Trader's Take
:
"Homebuilding stocks continued their impressive rally," Bell
noted. "Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve released its Federal Open
Market Committee statement, suggesting it expects moderate economic
growth, following a pause late last year."
3 Things to Know About Today's Market
:
- The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC)
today
kept its $40-billion per month bond buyback program in place,
kept interest rates low, and predicted "modest growth" for the
economy this year.
(MarketWatch)
- The turmoil in Cyprus
continues
, with the country now facing bankruptcy after its parliament
rejected the bailout deal from the European Union and
International Monetary Fund over concerns of a proposed tax on
bank deposits.
(CNNMoney)
- JPMorgan (JPM) reached
a $546 million settlement
with the trustees of the failed brokerage unit of MF Global
Holdings, allowing the latter firm to repay its customers. JPM
was the largest creditor in a $1.2 billion loan to MF Global,
which declared bankruptcy in 2011.
(Chicago Tribune)
5 Stocks We Were Watching Today
:
- Despite a brief downturn by online gaming producer Zynga Inc
(
ZNGA
), option bulls
sought
short-term gains.
- Bulls also
swarmed
Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) as it held its annual meeting and tried to
keep up recent momentum.
- Akamai Technologies (AKAM) faces some technical resistance to
a big climb, but that didn't stop bullish traders from
seeking
a decent-sized jump in the coming month.
- Starbucks (SBUX), however, was
the target
of short-term bears looking for a fairly steep drop by the end of
the week.
- And investors also bet that Agrium (AGU) would sink below its
technical support, trading
a flurry
of bearish puts.
For a look at today's options movers and commodities
activity, head to page 2.
Commodities
:
Oil rose today, sparked by the news that the Federal Reserve
expects "moderate" economic growth and an unexpected drop in
supplies last week. Expiring April futures jumped 80 cents, or
0.9%, to $92.96 per barrel. The newly front-month May contract
added 98 cents, or 1.1%, to close at $93.50 per barrel.
Gold, meanwhile, dropped for the first time in five sessions.
April gold finished down $3.80, or 0.2%, at $1,607.50 an ounce
ahead of Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's scheduled
remarks.
At the end of every market day, the staff at Schaeffer's
Investment Research reviews the trading day in detail, covering
major events and key market developments. Don't miss this
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