1:00pm (EST)
The market continues its rebound from last week’s selloff. A lot of traders took out protection for the weekend and are covering today as oil has stabilized. Economic news has come in better-than-expected and the bulls have used these two catalysts to move the indexes higher.
Oil was down after reports surfaced that oil shipments in Libya have begun again but is off its lows and is slightly positive. News that a tanker bound for China was loading oil in the Libyan port of Tobruk was welcomed relief for the bulls. Additionally, the market learned Saudi Arabia was boosting exports and has reiterated their ability to meet any supply shortfall.
In economic news, Personal Income for January increased by 1%, which was much higher than the 0.3% pop that had been penciled in. Personal Spending during January was up 0.2% versus expectations for a 0.4% increase. Elsewhere, the Chicago PMI reading for February came in at 71.2, up from January’s print of 68.8, and higher than expectations of 67.5.
The Dow is up 80 points to 12,210 and has traded to a high of 12,233. We would love to see a close above 12,200 while support is strong at 12,000.
The S&P 500 is showing a 6 point gain and is 1,326. A close above 1,325 would be money; 1,330 even better.
The Nasdaq is lower by 2 points and is at 2,778. We are looking for a close above 2,800 and the index has traded as high as 2,798 today.
We like today’s action and we would like to see continued strength into the close but the fact that Tech has slipped has us cautious. We will be back in the morning with a full update.
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