(As of 7:10 am PST)
Oil continues its upward move
again today with more talk from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting
Countries (OPEC) about cutting production. In early trading the Dow is tracking
slightly upward while the S&P 500 is flat. If gains can hold today, it will
be the fourth straight session of positive performance. In the early going,
investors have had a handful of economic news to digest and the news is mixed.
Weekly claims for unemployment benefits fell to the lowest level in three
months while a gauge of manufacturing activity in the Philadelphia area
indicated contraction for a sixth straight month. In corporate news, shares of
Walmart are taking a beating after the Dow-component announced disappointing
quarterly results. There’s a feeling that the markets want to follow oil to the
upside, but Walmart’s news and mixed data are holding buyers back (at least for
the moment). In overseas action, European stocks are mostly higher today and
are approaching their highest level in two weeks while Asia closed mostly
higher. It has been a good run this week and it will be interesting to track
how investors respond to this recent trend. Everyone will be watching to see
how the market responds to any selling interest that might take place today as
the day continues.
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