Daily Investment Interpretations

August 5, 2008

2008-8-5:  Oil closed today at $119.37 a barrel after falling as low as $118 a barrel during the day, and the stock market took off. The Nasdaq Composite rose 64.27 points to 2,349.83, the Dow catapulted 331.62 points to 11,615.77, and the S&P 500 treaded upward 35.87 points to close at 1,284.88. These advances leave the Nasdaq and the S&P at new highs since this rally began on July 16th. 
    By contrast, the VIX fell 2 points to 21.14.
    This morning Michael Ashbaugh, writing at noon today, published his latest open-to-the-public technical analysis: "Markets run in place- Ashbaugh". 
    What happens next probably depends upon what happens to the price of oil. If it continues to fall, then we may see further improvements in the market indices. 
    Update:  At 10 p. m., crude oil is currently $118.42 a barrel.
    Airline stocks should also show sizable gains. Of course, , the unwinding of the credit crunch will still be hanging over u. Mark Hulbert has just published this: Mark Hulbert: Tuesday's rally wasn't as strong as it looked, and Todd Harrison has this to say about the current rally: Todd Harrison: Catching the rally before reality sets in.