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December 27th, 2011
Although financial markets seem a lot less concerned this time around, spreads on Italian sovereign debt relative to German sovereign debt are back on the rise. As shown in the charts below, spreads on the debt of French and Spanish debt are well off their highs. Italian and Greek debt, on the other hand, are pretty close to their highs of the year. While Greece has been a lost cause, the increase in Italian debt spreads is more concerning to investors.
December 27th, 2011
On Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average broke and closed above key resistance. As shown below, the index broke above the neckline of a reverse head and shoulders pattern, which is a bullish technical formation. This opens up quite a bit of upside room to run before any new resistance levels come into play for the Dow.
December 23rd, 2011
Last week we noted that the week before Christmas has historically been positive for the market, but the week after Christmas has been even better. As shown in the table below, the S&P 500 has averaged a significant gain of 0.93% in the last week of the year with positive returns 77% of the time (64 out of 83). This compares to an average of +0.15% for all weeks since 1928.
December 23rd, 2011
The recent decline in the VIX has been well-documented and is generally indicative of the pullback in fear that hit the market in August. While part of the reason for the VIX's decline are technical and seasonal in nature, other indicators also point to a degree of normalcy coming back to the market.
December 23rd, 2011
The S&P 500 today finds itself once again testing key resistance at its 200-day moving average. This is now the fourth attempt to break and stay above the 200-day over the last three months. A break above really puts the market in a position to make a nice run higher in the near term. Another failure would certainly make bulls unhappy heading into the Christmas holiday weekend.
December 23rd, 2011
When looking at the year's top performing stocks, one characteristic that the names usually share is that they started out the year in the single digits. With that in mind, we have just published our list of the top stocks trading under $10/share for 2012. First off, we ran the 800+ stocks in the index under $10 through our Bespoke Stock Scores Fundamentals screen, which measures each stock's valuation based on several metrics relative to its peer group.
December 22nd, 2011
Below is an update of our charts that show the percentage of stocks in the S&P 500 and its ten sectors that are trading above their 50-day moving averages. As shown, 63% of stocks in the entire index are currently above their 50-days. This is a fairly strong number given the negativity surrounding the market recently.
December 22nd, 2011
With just five trading days left in 2011, below is an updated list of the 50 best performing stocks in the Russell 3,000 year to date.
The average stock in the entire index is down 4.6% in 2011, but the 50 best performing stocks are up an average of 120%. The top performing stock for the year is currently Pharmasset (VRUS) with a gain of 472.5%. The company is currently being acquired by Gilead, so its performance shouldn't change too much over the next few days. Inhibitex (INHX) ranks second with a gain of 323%, while Medivation (MDVN) ranks third with a gain of 200.79%.
December 21st, 2011
For the second time in as many days, gold failed to close above its 200-day moving average (DMA). For some, there is a feeling of deja vu. It wasn't gold, but just in the last month the S&P 500 made similar but futile attempts to rally back above its 200-DMA. After it tried and failed to close above its 200-DMA, the S&P 500 saw a correction of just over 4%.
December 21st, 2011
As a major vice stock, Altria Group (formerly Philip Morris and the maker of Marlboros) certainly has its fair share of detractors. Investors that are willing to own the name, however, have made out handily in recent years. As shown in the chart below, MO has soared to daily new highs over the last few weeks, and it's up 23.11% year to date. That doesn't even include the dividend payout that shareholders receive of more than 5% per year.
