Friends
Today’s market movement was influenced by earnings reports, economic reports and Dr. Bernanke’s testimony in front of the Senate Banking Committee. On the earnings front, Johnson and Johnson disappointed slightly, while Coca Cola delivered another stellar quarter. On the economic front, the CPI number was about as expected, and not a market mover. The major determinant of the direction of stocks today was the testimony of the Fed Chairman on Capitol Hill. Once again, although not explicitly promising anything, Dr. Bernanke made it clear that more help from the Fed would be forthcoming should it be necessary (and it most likely will be necessary). You got it, more punch for the punch bowl.
Anyway, for the day the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 78 points to close at 12,805. The S&P 500 was up 10 points to finish the day at 1363. Gold was down $9 to finish the day trading near $1582 per ounce, and oil was up $.63 to trade at $89.02 per barrel WTI (notice how oil is working its way right back up in price).
Earnings season continues in earnest this week, and it will also be interesting to see if traders continue to play the bad news is good news game with regards to help from the Fed.
Have a nice evening everyone.
