Man, What a Week!

Euro is mixed, Asia was higher in every exchange and the SPX traded higher in the overnight futures market.  After a Gap open of nearly 50 points in the Dow, the index is up 83 as this is written.  The SPX is up 6.44, trading 1316.23 and well above the downtrend resistance line.  It looks like this weeks rally has again turned the markets higher.

Oil is off a little, trading 105 and the Brent is off at 115.64.  Gold is higher at 1436 /and Silver is up, trading at 37.52  The entire commodity complex is up, with out a single red arrow to be seen.  The Euro is off, trading 1.413, while the Dollar is higher t 75.87.  The Yen is also lower, trading 81.14 vs the Dollar.  The 10 year Note is up at 3.401% and the long Bond is higher at 4.467%

News out of Japan seems to deteriorate every day, with the Government and TEPCO now extending the exclusion area beyond the previous 18 mile boundary after learning that Zirconium is being showing up in the waste around the plant.  This is only possible when the cladding around the fuel rod has melted, which means positive proof that a melt down has occurred.  Bottled water has disappeared from shelves in Tokyo while the government consuls the citizens not to hoard.  Some cracks are appearing in that well ordered and disciplined culture.

In Europe, concern mounts that the Sovereign debt issues in Portugal will mean for the first time that maybe Bond holders will be forced to book some of the losses associated with some bad loans.  The IMF and the ECB's are creating another emergency fund to prepare for the next series of BailOuts and voters in Germany are expected to continue expressing their disapproval of their county's backstopping of the Bailouts.

In Libya the violence continues as the U.S. promises to hand over command of the "No Fly" enforcement to a NATO commander shortly. (I had thought the French Air Force was the main player in that effort, but it turns out that American Jets flew 80% of the sorties.)  Egypt is looking more and more like they are getting more of what they had, while tens of thousand demonstrate in Yeman.  If that was not enough trouble in the Middle East, we learn that the shooting war continues to heat up, with Hamas launching rockets even deeper into Isreal, which of course is threatening to respond with more force.


I guess this is all good, because the markets have had their best week since last June.  The Proprietary Momentum Change Indicators generated a Buy signal on Wed., 3/23 and the trade recommendations are to the right.  I have timing tools that are looking for this rally to carry into late May or early June, and potential targets on the SPX of 1400.  The timing tools have been less reliable than usual in this market, especially since August of last year.  But it is nice to have a goal to work with.

I guess the best advice is to sit back, relax, maybe go fishing for all those hungry Bass, and watch those Buy Stops get triggered all the way to 1400.

Best To Your Trading!

Bill