Daily Investment Interpretations

August 19, 2009

2009-8-20:  Here we are The markets advanced for a third day in a row. The NASDAQ Composite rose another 19.98 points (1.01%) to close at 1,989.22, the Dow climbed 70.89 points (0.76%) to settle at 9,350.05 and the S&P 500 tacked on 10.91 points (1.09%) to end at 1,007.37. Oil closed at $72.35 a barrel, while gold fell $3 to $942. The VIX backed off to 25.09.
    The Conference Board' Index of Leading Indicators has risen for the fourth month in a row, leading the Board to suggest that the recession is bottoming out, and that an economic recovery may begin soon.. Their Index of Coincident Indicators was unchanged in July, following eight months of declining readings.
    Stock futures are very slightly negative tonight.

2009-8-20 (Morning):  Here we are again with market indices inching their way higher.
    The sharp drop in the Chinese markets on Monday from about 41.75 to about 39 for the FXI index was triggered by rumors that the Chinese government is moving to block the development of a bubble in Chinese stock prices. Since then, the FXI index has risen to 40.4, still off from its August 3rd peak of 43.67, but up a bit from its close at 39.132 on Monday.
    The rise in the S&P 500 from its Monday low of about 979 to its present value of 1,003 or about 15 points below its August 7th top at 1,018.is being attributed to the fact that oil inventories have fallen, suggesting that world demand for oil is rising. (It probably doesn't hurt that the International Monetary Fund has announced that the world is pulling out of recession.) Added to that is a rumor that the White House is planning to announce another round of stimulus spending.