Friends
While the Italians continue to figure out who is going to run the country, traders seemed to turn their attention to Dr. Bernanke’s testimony before the Senate today. The Fed Chairman put at ease the worries that the punch bowl would be taken away any time soon. Market participants had already been scrounging around for bargains in early trading, so Dr. Bernanke just added to the buying interest as the trading session continued. A pleasantly surprising new home sales number seemed to add to the good feelings and a day of recovery was the end result.
By the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 116 points to finish the day at 13,900. The S&P 500 was up 9 points to close at 1496. Gold, buoyed by European distress, continued its snap back with a tasty $27 gain to trade at $1613 per ounce. Oil was down again, trading at $92.61 per barrel WTI.
Yes, volatility has returned, and the challenge is to figure out what traders will be focused on as each new day dawns. Let’s see if 1500 becomes resistance for the S&P as we move forward. To get this thing back on track the bulls are going to have to take a run at 1530 and get through it. The bears seem to be on a little less shaky ground for the moment.
Have a nice evening everyone.
