Posts by Mike Verity

Stocks opened lower this morning (Dow -127 points; S&P 500 -.1%). But make no mistake, the market is in rally mode. Since October 27th these indexes are up between 7% and 9%. The 3-month correction is over and we’re now into a seasonally favorable part of the year. More than that, the recent retreat of…

The S&P 500 opened lower this morning but quickly turned around and is fighting for its 9th straight positive trading session. It’s pretty clear now that the year-end rally is upon us. Over that period the VIX fear gauge has fallen to 14.5 from 21. Gold and oil have traded lower. And bonds rallied as…

Investors have just come through a very uninspiring three-month period which saw the S&P 500 fall 10%. But since October 27th things have been very different. The S&P bounced 6%, the Dow is up 5% and the Nasdaq is up nearly 7%. And it’s not just the Magnificent 7 (Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Netflix, Meta, Tesla,…

The economy continues to hold up despite what some media outlets are telling us. US retail sales of goods and food services surged .7% in September, more than twice the expected gain. Previously reported sales during August were upwardly revised as well. Growth was broad-based across categories, with weakness confined to electronics, apparel and appliances.…

The Dow and S&P 500 soared at the open, following on yesterday’s rally. All eleven market sectors are trading higher. Commodities are down (oil, gold, silver, natural gas). The bond market is trading slightly higher after yesterday’s monster rally. This tells us investors don’t believe the Israel/Hamas war will spiral out of control. As wonky…

The stock market opened higher this morning (Dow +100 points; S&P 500 +.6%) in response to falling bond yields & oil prices. The 10-year Treasury yield ticked down to 4.7% and WTI crude oil fell back under $88/barrel. As I’ve noted in recent updates, long-term bond yields have been rising steadily. The 10-year Treasury Note…

Stocks opened modestly higher this morning due to a better than expected inflation report (see below). But gains quickly faded, blending in with what has been a pretty rough September. Major stock market indices have fallen 3-5% for the month. Of course, this is typically a weak part of the year. But I suspect rising…

Major stock market indices fell this morning in reaction to weaker economic data. The Dow is currently off 290 points and the S&P 500 is down 1.1%. Over the last week the VIX—a measure of fear among traders—has run from about 14 to 18.6. Remember, we’re in the middle of a seasonally weak period. And…

Stocks faltered this morning (Dow -160 points; SPX -1%) following yesterday’s Fed announcement. Commodities are mostly lower as well on a stronger dollar. The bond market is selling off. I see two main reasons. First, as Ritholtz Wealth CEO Josh Brown says, “We all have to be OK with, we had a great first half…