A Muted Rally

Jan 7, 2019 | Market Commentary

Friends 

After last week’s large moves, today’s market action almost felt muted. Yes, we did have some volatility but for the most part stocks traded nicely in positive territory for most of today’s trading session. On the economic front the ISM non-manufacturing number was a little on the weaker side, giving the Fed doves more ammunition to remain dovish. But, as is often the case after large market moves, we are now likely to trade up to resistance levels and down toward support levels. 

For the day, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 98 points to finish the day at 23,531. The S&P 500 was up 17 points to close at 2,549. Gold was up $3 to trade at $1,289 per ounce, while oil was up $.64 to trade at $48.60 per barrel WTI.  

Next up on the calendar is earnings season. We have had a few early warning signs that the next few weeks might be problematic from a corporate earnings point of view. At the very least, expect companies to be cautious about their prospects in 2019. Now, is a less than stellar earnings season already priced into stock prices? What happens to stocks if earnings actually continue to shine as they have previous quarters? It will be an interesting and informative next few weeks. We’ll keep you up to date will all the proceedings. 

Have a nice evening everyone.

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