Even the largest monthly decline in home prices in the history of the S&P Home Price Index could not get the stock market moving very much today. The DJIA lost only 40 points, the S&P 500 fell just 5 points, and the NASDAQ actually picked up a couple of points. Seems the market almost stops while everyone waits to see what Uncle Ben is cooking up in this week’s FED meeting. Stay tuned tomorrow afternoon. There is sure to be a lot more action than we’ve seen the last couple of days.

JD

The DJIA closed at 12,720, just below the 12,750 support level. The S&P 500 closed at 1375, just above its support at 1370. While the market appears to be holding steady at support, we haven’t really had strong follow through to the upside, so proceed with caution on any bullish plays you may be looking at.

JD

The stock market went crashing through resistance today, thanks to the boost from GOOG. The S&P 500 held above 1370 and the DJIA held above 12,750. If these levels hold up again tomorrow it will be time to call them support.

JD

Dow futures are +130 premarket. A close above 12,750, and all short positions should be exited. GOOG blew their earnings out of the water and the stock was +50 after hours. C earnings were in line so a big relief. The yield curve is flatter this morning confirming that possibly the worst is over.

BA

INTC earnings started off the day with a bang. After-hours today, IBM kept the party going. Anyone playing short should use a stop with a close in the Dow above 12,750. My feeling though is that we are getting the best of the earnings right now. There are more negative ones to come especially with MER before the open tomorrow. The curve was all over the map today with the fly(5-10-30) closing +4. Oil is relentless and closed up another buck.

BA

GE, the bluest blue chip, missed their earnings number this morning and lowered guidance for the rest of the year. Earnings expectations in this market are sky high for the second half of the year. If GE can’t hit their number, who will? Now is the time to press your bets on the downside.

BA

It feels eerily quiet. The market has had a few days of congestion/digestion and appears to be moving towards the low end of its trading range of the last week. A close below 12,500 should send us back toward a test of 12,000. I would recommend selling call spreads in GOOG on any rally.

BA

We have had 5 trading sessions since the strong April Fool’s day rally in the stock market. Over that time period the market has essentially gone absolutely nowhere. While we have tested resistance at the 12, 750 level on the DJIA (reaching 12,733 intraday) the reaction to that test has been nothing short of puzzling. Normally, you would expect the market to either strongly reject that level, or surge through to new short term highs. It has done neither.

The bulls and bears are having quite a tug of war. The bulls say the worst is over. The bears insist that we have only seen the tip of the iceberg. Only time will tell who is right. We continue to take a cautious approach to the equity markets.

JD