Friends
After the bears made some noise Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, the bulls made their presence known over the last two trading sessions. Despite a less than stellar retail sales number this morning market participants were in a buying mood and all of the market averages benefited.
For the day the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 360 points to close at 34,382. The S&P 500 was up 61 points to finish the day at 4,173. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 304 points to close at 13,429. Gold was up $19 to trade at $1,843 per ounce, while oil was up $1.56 to trade at $65.40 per barrel WTI.
We saw more volatility, at least on a day to day basis, creep back into the markets this week, but the bulls have to be encouraged by the recovery late in the week. For years we have talked about the TINA (there is no alternative) paradigm, and though often scoffed at, the fact remains that each time we have sold off, in a relatively short period of time traders have regrouped and moved right back into stocks. That may change someday, but with interest rates still as low as they are, investors have very few alternatives.
Have a great weekend everyone.
