9:00am (EST)
The bulls dodged a bullet yesterday after Germany agreed to support more bailouts as Wall Street now shifts its focus on today’s Fed news. The bears managed to trim a little off the top but the market showed continued strength as it pushed new highs.
The Dow added 10 points, or 0.07%, to finish at 13,333. The blue-chips kissed 13,373 and a fresh 52-week high after busting through our 13,350 target which now sets the stage for a pop to 13,500-13,600.
The S&P 500 advanced 3 points, or 0.2%, to settle at 1,436. The index traded up to 1,439 which was also a 1-year high and remains on track for 1,450.
The Nasdaq gained 10 points as well, or 0.3%, to close at 3,114. Tech failed to take out last Friday’s yearly high of 3,139 but if Apple (AAPL, $669.79, up $9.20) can make another run at $700 then the Nasdaq could trigger 3,200-3,250 on momentum.
The Russell 2000 was up 3 points, or 0.4%, to end at 845. The small-caps are within a field goal of breaking their 52-week high 847.92 and 5 points away from our near-term target of 850.
The S&P Volatility Index ($VIX, 15.80, down 0.61) fell nearly 4% and traded down to 15.43.
The FOMC is scheduled to release it policy decision at 12:30pm (EST) so we can expect some volatility leading up to and after the announcement. If The Bernanke can manage to deliver what the market wants to hear then the bulls could continue to rally to new highs and push our “fluff” targets. If not, the bears could go on the attack.
Futures are showing a slightly lower open and look like this: Dow (-18); S&P 500 (-2); Nasdaq 100 (-7). Subscribers, check the Members Area for the updates. We expect another busy day as far as possible Trade Alerts and maybe New Trades so stay on your toes.