Friends
Another solid day of gains for the bulls, as stocks climbed despite the somewhat uninspiring economic news. Both the retail sales number and the weekly jobless claims number were disappointing, but traders seemed intent on adding to positions as the market averages head towards all-time highs.
By the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 110 points to finish the day at 17,972. The S&P 500 was up 19 points to close at 2088. Gold was up $2 to trade at $1222 per ounce, while oil was up $2.28 to trade at $51.12 per barrel WTI.
Despite the somewhat lackluster corporate earnings season, the bears just haven’t been able to build on January’s losses, and subsequently we find ourselves right back near all-time highs. What can the bulls do from here? Do we move to new highs and start building another good year for stocks? Time will tell, of course, but if oil has found some stability around $50 per barrel, the bulls case might be enhanced. In the meantime let’s see how the week finishes up tomorrow.
Have a nice evening everyone.
