When the indexes rally like they did this week, in the face of dicey govt. numbers, the path of least resistance looks to be the long side.
They key is what could cause a reversal, and when?
I am skeptical, and am not playing the indexes, part due to the fact that I have spent about an hour a day on the computer the past week, and partly due to the fact that individual stocks I have in inventory have been doing so well...
Nasdaq ends best week in 10 months
Investors brush aside jobs report to post solid gains
NEW YORK, May 2 — The Nasdaq composite index posted its best finish in 10 months Friday as buyers grew increasingly confident of a rebounding economy. Airline stocks surged after Merrill Lynch said the worst of the industry’s troubles seemed to be over.
ANALYSTS SAID INVESTORS were unfazed by a jump in the unemployment rate and pleased by a jump in factory orders, giving the Nasdaq and Standard & Poor’s 500 index their third straight winning week. The Dow Jones industrials, meanwhile, climbed 128 points.
“Optimism is certainly returning to the market,” said Richard Nash, chief market strategist at Victory Capital Management. “Most folks have been willing to ignore the subpar economic data because most of it has been backward-looking. They know the March-April period was affected by the war.”
The Nasdaq gained 30.32, or 2.1 percent, to 1,502.88, the highest level seen since June 18, 2002, when it closed at 1,542.96. The S&P rose 13.78, or 1.5 percent, to 930.08, the best level since Jan. 14.
The Dow, meanwhile, closed up 128.43, or 1.5 percent, at 8,582.68, following a two-day loss of 48.74 points. It was the highest level since Jan. 17, when the blue chips finished at 8,586.74.
For the week, the three main gauges finished higher, with the Dow up 3.3 percent, the Nasdaq higher 4.8 percent, and the S&P up 3.5 percent. The Dow rebounded from a loss last week.
The Labor Department reported Friday that the nation’s unemployment rate rose to 6 percent in April. Last month’s jobless rate was up two-tenths of a percentage point from March, with payrolls falling by 48,000. April’s reading matched economists’ estimates.
But the Commerce Department said orders to U.S. factories rose 2.2 percent to $329.96 billion in March, following a revised 1 percent fall in February. The gain was larger than analysts’ expectations. |
