Yesterday, the DOW turned a 134 point decline into a closing gain of 57. This 200 point intraday upside reversal was the best such showing of this nature in nine months. It was led by AAPL, at a new all-time closing high, and strong gains in BA, CAT and UTX. The utility indices reached their best levels as well…a function of the decline in interest rates this year despite the Federal Reserve having made two increases already.
The upside turnaround might have been motivated by a strong August Consumer Confidence report which rose to its second highest level of the year at 122.9. This was the third best level since 2000. Some observers said that the President’s moderate comments on the North Korean missile firing might have eased the situation,
Today, the DOW closed up 27 points, the S&P was higher by 11, and the NASDAQ was the best of the three major indices by rising 66 points. The overall markets were green in just about every sector except telecommunications. GILD was up over 5% today. These gains are just ahead of Friday’s always important jobs report, the last one until the next Fed meeting in mid-September. There may be some hints in the statement about what is in store for December.
Donald M. Selkin
Don Selkin is the Chief Market Strategist at Newbridge Securities Corporation, member FINRA/SIPC and provides the Fair Value analysis for CNBC each morning. The commentary provided in this Market Letter is intended to provide timely market analysis and should not be considered a research report. This Market Letter may contain, and is limited to: Discussions of broad based indices; Commentaries on economic, political or market conditions; Technical analyses concerning the demand and supply for a sector, index or industry based in trading volume and price; Statistical summaries of multiple companies’ financial data, including listings of current ratings; and, Recommendations regarding increasing or decreasing holdings in particular industries or securities. This Market Letter does not make a financial or investment recommendation or otherwise promotes a product or service of the firm. This Market Letter contains only news, facts, and commentary on information previously reported from a news source believed to be accurate and reliable by the author. These news sources include the following: Bloomberg Financial, Reuters and the Associated Press. The Daily Market Notes have been abbreviated and updated with permission from the author.