Apple, Facebook propel Wall Street to three-week peak

TUE  JANUARY 8, 2019 / 5:50 PM 

It was another 3-digit rally today bringing the Dow up another 256, the third consecutive up day, again spurred by hopes that a trade deal will be struck with China and helped a great deal also by Powell’s remarks taking on a more dovish tone.  But according to today’s expert (and I concur), what really happened today was investors finally looking past the headlines and paying closer attention to what they should be looking at it – the fundamentals – and seeing it’s not a bad picture.  That seems to be the way the market has been going for some time.  Headlines bring things down, then the market becomes more rational, looks at the actual facts and start buying again.  Volume remains brisk at 8 bilion but still under the 4-week average of 9 billion. 

Amazon and Netflix push Wall Street higher

MON  JANUARY 7, 2019 / 4:45 PM 

Last week’s end-of-week rally continued Monday with the resumption of China trade talks easing investor concerns and boosting the Dow another 98 points.  Friday’s rally continues to “feed on itself.” Q4 earnings are now expected to increase by 15 percent vs Q4 forecasts of 20 percent that were made at the end of Q3.  2019 profit growth is now estimated at 7 percent, vs 10 percent last quarter.  Volume was 8.1 billion. 

Succinct Summation of Week’s Events for 1.4.19

Below is the weekly summation, the big positives being Friday's dramatic recovery to what had been a disastrous week, the recovery triggered in large part by a jobs report that was a great deal better than forecast.  The bad news is that Apple is still rather badly beaten down and unemployment has risen to 3.9 percent.  As I've just returned from a weekend trip, there is no bonus this Sunday night.

Wall St. rebounds on robust jobs report, dovish Powell remarks

Fri 1-4-19

Thursday’s 660 point loss was more than recovered Friday with several factors instigating a surge of 3 percent across the board including a big boost to the FAANG stocks.  The multi-faceted advance was spearheaded by a strong jobs report and an unusually pointed message that the Fed is sensitive to investors’ concerns and is not on a predetermined course of hikes.  Ordinarily a good jobs report would just create new fears of new hikes but Powell’s statement seems to have calmed those fears.  The news of more talks with Beijing scheduled for next week also helped.  At nearly 8.7 billion shares, trading was brisk though still under the unusually brisk 4-week average of 9.1 billion. 

Wall Street plunges as factory data, Apple warning fuel slowdown fears

What an ugly start to the new year.  Any hesitancy that was shown in yesterday’s market was erased today as investors became convinced that things were heading south.  Taking overnight to reflect on Apple’s dire revenue warning, not to mention the factory activity report showing the biggest drop in ten years, it was a major selloff with the market losing more than 2 percent and Apple’s shares dropping 10 percent.  This says just one thing – investors are concerned not so much about the bad news from Apple but rather that it’s only the tip of the iceberg.  Automakers also reported weak December sales with GM down nearly 9 percent and Ford nearly 3.  And the 2-year Treasury dipped below the federal funds effective rate for the first time in 10 years.  The Dow lost 660, the Nasdaq 202 on volume of 8.1 billion shares. 

Wall Street ekes out gain, Apple cuts revenue forecast after the bell

If there’s one thing that been a no-brainer to predict lately it’s volatility and today was certainly no exception. The Dow dropped almost 300 points right out the gate and then rose and fell however choppily throughout the session in a 500 point range.  It was even so very briefly in the black around 2 pm but then dove again, only to rise just before close to a +18.  The main stimulus today was Apple dropping its Q4 forecast due to China.  This along with other reports showing declining activity in China and the euro zone made it easy to understand the indecision.  One conclusion everyone came to is that the trade war with China was taking its toll.  Q4 is now expected to come in at just under 16 percent earnings growth, roughly half of that of Q3.  Of course, that has been predicted for a long time along with the anticipated continuing slowdown into 2019.  Volume was 7.8 billion. 

How Madoff Pitched Institutions

Happy New Year!  Instead of prognostications today, I found this on Barry Ritholtz's New Year's post on the Big Picture blog and thought it more appropriate to share a brief (4 min) and humorous video from one of the intelligent investors who saw right away that Bernie Madoff was bad news and got out of his way.  Yes, something smart happening is a good way to start the new year.  The fun starts again tomorrow.