9:00am (EST)
The market acted like we were hoping it would yesterday although support got stretched but held as the bulls showed some strength. After two days of intense selling pressure the major indexes ended mixed with Tech stopping the bears from make it a clean sweep. The Dow and S&P broke below major psychological barriers but were back above these key levels by the closing bell.
The Dow traded to a low of 11,983 before finishing lower by 37 points at 12,068. The 150-point swing was nerve racking to say the least but the end results was a close above 12,000.
For the second day in-a-row, the S&P dipped below 1,300 but managed to finish above this level as the index settled at 1,306, down a point.
Tech rebounded well and finished 15 points higher at 2,737. The index fell to a low of 2,707 and traded to a high of 2,745 as it stayed within our 2,700-2,750 zone.
The bears have done some damage this week but not enough to keep us from being bullish. However, like we saw in September 2010, the market can turn on a dime (and we can too) at any moment and this week has certainly belonged to the bears.
Oil will be the wild card and will trade on Libya and Middle East tensions. If they get worse and disruption spreads to other countries then oil continues higher and we probably get a weaker market going forward. If things calm down and oil stabilizes under $100 then we will probably see $80 a barrel again which helps the bulls’ case.
Futures are pointing towards a strong open and it would be a mini-victory if the bulls can hold the line once again or the market closes higher today. We will be back at halftime with one last look at the numbers before the weekend and we may also recommend a NEW TRADE today, depending on market conditions. Be on the lookout for a Trade Alert shortly after the opening bell if we see something we like.
]]>