BloggingStocks http://www.bloggingstocks.com BloggingStocks http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/media/feedlogo.gif BloggingStocks http://www.bloggingstocks.com en-us Copyright 2012 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/<![CDATA[Dow 8,000 stops by to visit again; what's the next level to watch out for?]]>http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2009/01/21/dow-8-000-stops-by-to-visit-again-whats-the-next-level-to-watc/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2009/01/21/dow-8-000-stops-by-to-visit-again-whats-the-next-level-to-watc/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2009/01/21/dow-8-000-stops-by-to-visit-again-whats-the-next-level-to-watc/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

Once again, the Dow has registered a lame, listless rally and then moved back below 8,000.

For those investors who may not follow indices closely, the 8,000 level has psychological but not technical support. The latter measures such things as the number of investors who are buying / selling, whether investors are committing new money to the market etc.

Right now a battle is taking place between bulls and bears at the institutional investor level: the bears argue the worst economic news stemming from the financial crisis is yet to come; the bulls say that the worst news is behind us, and that government stimulus, fiscal and monetary, will both stabilize the financial system and get the U.S. economy moving again.

The Dow Tuesday closed below 8,000 at 7,949. If the bears can keep the Dow below 8,000, then push it through 7,800, then 7,600, it will not be a pleasant time for investors.

Some institutions may continue to hand-sit until mid-February, preferring to await the Obama Administration's announcement of the exact size of the fiscal stimulus package, now believed to be approaching $725-850 billion.

Continue reading Dow 8,000 stops by to visit again; what's the next level to watch out for?

Dow 8,000 stops by to visit again; what's the next level to watch out for? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 21 Jan 2009 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>bear marketbull marketDJIADowfeaturedresistancesupportWed, 21 Jan 2009 10:30:00 EST<![CDATA[Bulls vs. Bears battle for Dow 8,000 continues]]>http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/11/20/bulls-vs-bears-battle-for-dow-8-000-continues/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/11/20/bulls-vs-bears-battle-for-dow-8-000-continues/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/11/20/bulls-vs-bears-battle-for-dow-8-000-continues/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

Once again, Dow 8,000 has come back into focus.

For those investors who may not follow indices closely, the 8,000 level has a psychological but not technical support, the latter of which measures such things as the number of investors who are buying / selling, whether investors are committing more money to the market etc.

Even so, right now, a battle is taking place between the bulls and the bears: the bears argue the worst economic news stemming from the financial crisis is yet to come; the bulls argue that the worst news is behind us, and that government stimulus, fiscal and monetary, will get the U.S. economy moving again.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average Wednesday closed below 8,000 at 7,997. If the bears can keep the Dow below 8,000 and then push it through 7,800, then 7,600, it will not be a pleasant time for investors.

Let's do a condensed, cross-methodology analysis to see if we can arrive at an informed investment decision / conclusion regarding where the Dow is headed, near-term.

Continue reading Bulls vs. Bears battle for Dow 8,000 continues

Bulls vs. Bears battle for Dow 8,000 continues originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 20 Nov 2008 10:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>banking sectorbanksbearsbond marketbullsCCitigroupcredit default swapscredit marketsDJIADowearningsfeaturedFedgdpresistancesupportU.S. economyU.S. Federal ReserveunemploymentThu, 20 Nov 2008 10:10:00 EST<![CDATA['Heavy' DJIA appears poised to dance around 8,000 again]]>http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/10/23/heavy-djia-appears-poised-to-dance-around-8-000-again/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/10/23/heavy-djia-appears-poised-to-dance-around-8-000-again/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/10/23/heavy-djia-appears-poised-to-dance-around-8-000-again/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

Let's pull the lens back slightly to see the financial and economic picture -- evaluate the investing horizon, if you will.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average Wednesday registered yet another difficult day, down 514 points to 8,519.21.

From a technical analysis standpoint the view is not pleasant. The Dow is well below its 50-day and 200-day moving averages, there's not enough buy-side pressure to propel the Dow higher, but the Dow is still not oversold, with a relative strength index (rsi) of 36. This suggests the Dow will move lower, near-term.

The above, combined with likely weak earnings reports for the most recent quarter, are the main reasons yours truly has taken pains to underscore that if the Dow can hold 8,000 until 'normal' credit flows resume, that will be a moral victory.

I'll emphasize again. There's technical support in the 7,300-7,600 range, but not below that, which is why the psychological 8,000 level is important: it's not as strong a barrier as technical support, but it's 'the barrier before the barrier' -- and the goal is to avoid testing the last support, if possible. (The Dow also has technical support at 8,500 and 8,200: we'll see how they fare on Thursday, and moving forward.)

Continue reading 'Heavy' DJIA appears poised to dance around 8,000 again

'Heavy' DJIA appears poised to dance around 8,000 again originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 23 Oct 2008 09:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>DJIADowfeaturedresistancesupportThu, 23 Oct 2008 09:25:00 EST<![CDATA[Reiterating modest expectations: Think holding Dow 8,000 ]]>http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/10/15/reiterating-modest-expectations-think-holding-dow-8-000/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/10/15/reiterating-modest-expectations-think-holding-dow-8-000/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/10/15/reiterating-modest-expectations-think-holding-dow-8-000/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,

Is it time to rein-in expectations regarding the Dow?

Indeed it is, if technical analysis and historical p/e ratios mean anything.

Those with visions of a Dow of 11,000 dancing inside their heads need to take a step back, for context and perspective, on the likelihood of a Dow push to that level in the near future.

The U.S. economy is in recession, it's shedding jobs, downward corporate earnings revisions are likely, and the world's major economic regions are attempting to re-liquefy credit markets and prevent a global financial crisis from further damaging economies, worldwide.

The above, as CNN Talk Show Host Larry King would say, 'ain't exactly signs of prosperity.'

And the Dow has responded: down more than 30% since hitting its all-time high above 14,000 a year ago.

Keep your eye on 8,500 / 8,200 / 8,000

Earlier in this space yours truly noted that the Dow had technical support at the 8,500 to 8,200 levels, and of course psychological support at 8,000.

Continue reading Reiterating modest expectations: Think holding Dow 8,000

Reiterating modest expectations: Think holding Dow 8,000 originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 15 Oct 2008 15:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>DJIADowDow Jones Industrial Averageearningsgdppepe ratioprice per earningspsychological supportresistancesupportU.S. economyWed, 15 Oct 2008 15:40:00 EST<![CDATA[Tuesday Market Rap: KO, GM, HD & AXP]]>http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/08/14/tuesday-market-rap-ko-gm-hd-and-axp/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/08/14/tuesday-market-rap-ko-gm-hd-and-axp/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/08/14/tuesday-market-rap-ko-gm-hd-and-axp/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,

The markets saw broad selling pushing the Dow Jones Industrial Average down another 207 points to the bottom of the correction range. From a technical standpoint the DJIA the down broke through support at 13,041; but is still above the numerically significant 13,000 level.

The NYSE had volume of 3.8 billion shares with 440 shares advancing while 2,924 declined for a loss of 174.59 points to close at 9,254.27. On the NASDAQ, 2 billion shares traded, 797 advanced and 2,234 declined for a loss of 43.12 to 2,499.12.

With all the market volatility, options continued to be very active. In options there were 7.6 million puts and 6.2 million calls traded for a put/call open interest ratio of 1.21. Coca-Cola Co. (NYSE: KO) saw heavy volume on the January 45 calls (KOAI) with over 44,000 options trading. General Motors (NYSE: GM) tallied volume on the August 30 calls (GMHF) with over 31,000 options trading. American Express (NYSE: AXP) saw heavy volume on the January 60 calls (AXPAL) with over 28,000 options trading. Home Depot (NYSE: HD) moved heavy volume on the August 45 puts (HDTI) with over 90,000 options trading.

Kevin Kersten is an Options Analyst with InvestorsObserver.com. Disclosure note: Mr. Kersten owns and or controls a diversified portfolio of long and short positions that may include holdings in companies he writes about.

Tuesday Market Rap: KO, GM, HD & AXP originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 14 Aug 2007 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>advance decline ratioAdvanceDeclineRatioAmerican Express (AXP)AmericanExpress(axp)Coca-Cola (KO)Coca-cola(ko)DJIADow jones Industrial AverageDowJonesIndustrialAverageGeneral Motors (GM)GeneralMotors(gm)optionsput call ratioPutCallRatiosupportTue, 14 Aug 2007 18:30:00 EST<![CDATA['You know, I think technical analysis is bull']]>http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/08/05/you-know-i-think-technical-analysis-is-bull/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/08/05/you-know-i-think-technical-analysis-is-bull/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/08/05/you-know-i-think-technical-analysis-is-bull/#commentsFiled under: , ,

One of the BloggingStocks editors recently instant messaged me and said, "You know, I think technical analysis is bull." I've heard this opinion very frequently, and I've even held this opinion in the past. But from watching stocks for several years I've seen certain price moves that seem to occur again and again. Sure enough, these movements are some of the most fundamental elements of technical analysis; for example, support, resistance, uptrend, etc. I've seen many people who don't know any technical analysis but reference a stock's breakout on its "graph" -- just from watching stocks trade, they have realized this is often a sign of future profits to come.

As I began studying technical analysis more frequently, I learned more about the skill -- moving averages, indicators, oscillators, and so on. Many of these tools, in my opinion, do in fact have predictive value in the stock market. More importantly, these tools allow traders to more effectively and systematically (therefore, less emotionally) manage their money.

All this being said, I think the editor was right in one regard -- I have a lot of trouble believing in patterns (e.g., "Head and Shoulders") because I think that many of these are way too objective when it comes to trading. I also find that they are harder to explain than many other tenets of technical analysis, such as support and resistance.

I've been on all sides of the technical analysis argument -- extraordinarily against, emotionally for, and everything in between. As it stands now, I feel like it's just another tool in the toolbox for a trader and there's no reason not to consider it.

Continue reading 'You know, I think technical analysis is bull'

'You know, I think technical analysis is bull' originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 05 Aug 2007 11:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>AmazonAMZNGeorges YaredGeorgesYaredindicatorsmoving averagesMovingAveragesoscillatorspullbackresistancesupportTechnical AnalysisTechnicalAnalysisuptrendSun, 05 Aug 2007 11:10:00 EST<![CDATA[Sears helping out soldiers]]>http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/04/16/sears-helping-out-soldiers/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/04/16/sears-helping-out-soldiers/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/04/16/sears-helping-out-soldiers/#commentsFiled under: , ,

In a move that is down-right American, Sears stores (NYSE: SHLD) are going the extra mile for our men and women in the armed forces. It was reported to me that not only is Sears gladly meeting the legal requirements to hold open and available the jobs temporarily vacated by individuals who are called into active military service but they are proud to go above and beyond the call of duty. Sears is voluntarily paying the difference in salary and maintaining all benefits including medical insurance and bonus programs for a period of up to two years for their reservist employees who are called into service. I myself will happily drive ten miles beyond a Wal-Mart store (NYSE: WMT) and joyfully risk paying slightly higher prices to deal with a company that treats my soldiers like that.

Continue reading Sears helping out soldiers

Sears helping out soldiers originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 16 Apr 2007 17:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>armed forcesArmedForcesbenefitscustomer serviceCustomerServiceemailreservistsSearssupportMon, 16 Apr 2007 17:55:00 EST