(As of 7:00 am PST)
The momentum trade is
continuing into Tuesday’s action despite some disappointing economic data and a
mixed bag of earnings reports. The Dow Jones Industrial Average pushed through
a slow start Monday after major oil producers failed to agree on a production
freeze, but the blue-chip index rallied late in the day to close above 18,000
for the first time since July. Disappointing after-market earnings
announcements Monday from Netflix and IBM set the tone for a weak open Tuesday,
but so far the market has overcome the bad news and looks like it wants to push
higher again today. Data is light today with a report on housing starts slowing
in March, while building permits (a sign of future demand) also slowed below
the pace expected. International markets are providing some lift to investor
confidence today. In Asia, there was green across the board, with the Japanese
Nikkei leading all indexes with a 3.7% gain on a falling yen. In Europe, markets
have been trading firmly higher all day with most country indexes set to finish
with solid gains. Oil continues to trade solidly around $40 per barrel with
traders bidding up the commodity on news of labor strikes in Kuwait. Gold is
higher today, while silver prices are soaring on renewed interest from hedge
funds and likely due to the weakening of the US dollar. Some big names are
reporting earnings today. Johnson & Johnson reported an earnings beat as
did UnitedHealth, while Goldman Sachs missed expectations on quarterly revenue.
After the market, reports from Intel and Yahoo will be under the spotlight.
Note:
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