"Despite being downgraded by Standard & Poor's, Spain (and
the rest of Europe) displayed a strong performance. And then U.S.
markets followed suit," explained Senior Equity Analyst Joe Bell.
"The Street was also greeted with a string of solid earnings
reports, which only added momentum to an earnings season that is
easily beating expectations." As a result, the Dow Jones Industrial
Average (DJI) rallied for a fourth straight day.
Keep reading to see what else was on our radar today:
-
Small caps
are beginning to show signs of life.
- Columnist Adam Warner picked apart
the NASDAQ OMX Alpha Indexes
.
- Plus, Equities Analyst Bryan Sapp applauded this
"Teflon market."
And now, a look at the numbers...
The
Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI - 13,228.31)
notched its fourth consecutive win, adding 23.7 points, or 0.2%. Of
the Dow's 30 components 19 ended the session with gains, as Cisco
Systems (
CSCO
) paced the outperformers with a 1.9% rise. On the other hand,
Procter & Gamble's (
PG
) 3.6%
earnings-induced slide
led the 11 lagging issues. The blue-chip barometer jumped 1.5% for
the week.
The
S&P 500 Index (SPX - 1,403.36)
landed atop the 1,400 mark for the first time since April 3,
enjoying a 3.4 -point, or 0.2%, uptick. Finally, the
Nasdaq Composite (COMP - 3,069.20)
turned in the best performance of its peers, increasing 18.6
points, or 0.6%, on the day. The SPX ended the week up 1.8%, while
the COMP edged 2.3% higher.
The
CBOE Market Volatility Index (VIX - 16.32)
inched up roughly 0.5%, closing just under its session peak of
16.47, and marking its third finish below former support at 17. The
market's fear gauge dropped by 6.4% on the week.
Newsmakers...
Gross domestic product (
GDP
)
rose 2.2% during the first quarter of 2012, said the
Commerce Department
, marking a slowdown from the 3.0% growth recorded during the
fourth quarter of 2011. The report fell short of the consensus
estimate, which called for the U.S. economy to expand at a 2.6%
pace during the first three months of the year.
The
Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan consumer sentiment
index
arrived at 76.4 in late April -- representing an improvement over
the mid-month reading of 75.7, and up from 76.2 in March. The rise
in sentiment surprised economists, who generally expected the index
to remain flat at 75.7.
Today's highlight
: "The market withstood
several potential roadblocks
before the open, yet it still kept chugging along," commented Bell.
"We also had another round of good earnings reports that maintained
the upbeat momentum, with both
Expedia (
EXPE
)
and
Amazon.com (
AMZN
)
leading the way. The S&P 500 had a short battle at the 1,400
level, but the bulls appeared to take firm control heading into the
weekend."
Turning to today's major market stories...
For today's activity in commodities, options, and more, head
to page 2.
Oil futures continued their positive momentum, and tallied a
fourth consecutive win today. Weaker-than-expected first-quarter
GDP data initially dragged on crude, but those early jitters
eventually gave way to optimism over the prospect of additional
stimulus measures from the Fed. As stocks extended their winning
ways, June-dated crude added 38 cents, or 0.4%, to land at $104.93
a barrel -- its best close since April 2. Throughout the week, oil
pumped up 1.8%.
A faltering U.S. dollar supported gold futures, as a
softer-than-forecast GDP weighed on the greenback. Gold for June
delivery increased $4.30, or 0.3%, to close at $1,664.80 an ounce,
and finished the week up 1.3%.
Levels to Watch in Trading
:
- Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI - 13,228.31) - support at
11,500; resistance at 14,000
- S&P 500 Index (SPX - 1,403.36) - support at 1,100;
resistance at 1,500
- Nasdaq Composite (COMP - 3,069.20) - support at 2,400;
resistance at 3,400
For today's notable annual highs and lows,
click here
.
At the end of every market day, the staff at Schaeffer's
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