Posts by Mike Verity

The Dow and S&P 500 opened sharply higher this morning after some upbeat earnings announcements from Netflix, Elevance and General Dynamics (see below). Stocks have fully recovered from their early January swoon and are now making fresh highs. On the other hand, bond prices have reset lower to start the year. It seems traders (yet…

Stocks opened higher this morning, with the S&P 500 very close to its 2022 all-time high. The Nasdaq 100 just touched a new record high. This move not only defies traders’ expectations but it is also defying the bond market. Today bonds are selling off as interest rates move higher and that’s usually enough to…

Stocks drifted lower this morning after the Bureau of Labor Statistics released inflation data for December. Headlines are calling the report “hotter” than expected. The Dow is currently off about 100 points and the S&P 500 is down .4%. Bonds are trading modestly lower as well. The interest yield on the 10-year Treasury Note ticked…

Both stocks and bonds opened modestly higher this morning, but are down a bit to start the year. The S&P 500 is off .08%, the Dow is down .3% and the Nasdaq is down .6% so far in January. Long-term Treasury bonds are down about 2%, intermediate corporate bonds are off by about .7%, and…

Major US stock market indexes have fallen back in the New Year (Dow -.6%; S&P 500 -1.2%; Nasdaq -2.6%). This isn’t surprising given last quarter’s huge rally as well as seasonal tax-related selling. But I’m sure the news media will make much of it. We’re seeing the same trend in bonds. Last quarter falling interest…

Later today the Federal Reserve will announced results from its last policy meeting of the year. Will Fed Chair Powell declare victory over inflation and call an end to the interest rate tightening cycle? I think so. Data released yesterday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) confirmed Inflation continues to slow. The Consumer Price…

Stock & bond market rallies continued today. The Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq are all in the green. Interest rates continue to moderate and that’s fueling gains. We got a report showing low figures for unemployment insurance claims. But most of today’s optimism I think centered around company-specific announcements, some of which I’ve summarized below.…

Stocks opened mixed today, with the Nasdaq slightly higher but the Dow and S&P 500 a bit lower. The market could be forgiven for taking a breather, given the strong rally since October 27th. We’ve seen a lot of encouraging signs since then, such as a broadening of gains outside the Magnificent 7. Believe it…

Stocks opened mixed this morning (Down +255 points; S&P 500 -.15%). It could be that the month-long rally needs to take a breather. The VIX Index—used to measure fear among traders—has fallen off to a rather benign 13. I’d say most Wall Street firms feel a little better about things. Of course, the bond market…