Friends
Well, the Dow finally held and closed above 13,000 and the S&P 500 above 1370 for the first time since the summer of 2008. On the economic front, the durable goods number was disappointing this morning as well as the Case-Shiller index (which indicated that homes continue to decline in value in many American markets). On the positive side, the consumer confidence number was much better than the January number which surprised the market (but these numbers do not take into account the recent rise in oil prices which will be reflected in the March numbers).
All in all, traders looked past the economic numbers and continued to push stocks higher. For the day, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 24 points to close at 13,005. The S&P 500 was up 5 points to close at 1372. Gold was up $13 to close at $1788. Oil was down $1.88 on the day to finish at $106.68 per barrel WTI.
Tomorrow we’re going to hear from Dr. Bernanke and we’re going to also learn about the continued amount that the ECB will provide European banks through the LTRO (long-term refinancing operation) program. We’ll let you know what develops. Let’s see if the markets can build on today’s positive closing numbers.
Have a nice evening everyone.
