Daily Investment Interpretations

August 3, 2009

2009-8-3:  The Nasdaq powered past the 2,000 mark today, while the S&P 500 closed above 1,000.  The NASDAQ Composite gained 30.11 points (1.52%) to 2,008.61, the Dow climbed 114.95 points (1.25%) to close at 9,286.56 and the S&P 500 rose 15.15 points (1.53%) to end at 1,002.63. Oil closed up at $71.41 a barrel, while gold added $3 to end at $959. The VIX fell 0.36 to 25.56.
    The boost today came from the Institute for Supply Management's index report for July: ISM factory index shows improving manufacturing sector. Also, Job destruction storm petering out. Michael Ashbaugh gave an impromptu technical analysis this morning: Important leadership groups begin to stir.
    Tomorrow is "Turnaround Tuesday". It would come as no surprise if the markets pulled back somewhat after breaking to new highs. Still, as Keynes famously said, "The markets can remain irrational longer than you can remain solvent." By and large, though, it's time to buy.
    I have been exploring the American Association of Individual Investors' stock screens. One screen that rivals the O'Shaughnessy Tiny Titans and O'Neil's CAN SLIM is Earnings Estimate Revisions Up >5%. More about this when I've had time to explore it further.