Friends

Stocks surged to new all-time highs this morning but did see some profit taking early this afternoon. But the bulls did some more buying in the final hour of trading moving the market averages back to those morning highs. We had some less than stellar economic data this morning including lower personal income and spending numbers and a core PCE price index a little hotter than expected. Neither seemed to dampen enthusiasm at the open, as the bulls seemed determined to push to new highs.

By the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 432 points to finish the day at 43,819. The S&P 500 was up 32 points to close at 6,173. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 105 points to close at 20,273. Gold was down $65 to trade at $3,282 per ounce, while oil was down $.15 to trade at $65.09 per barrel WTI.

Monday will be the last trading day of the quarter, and unless there is a market moving headline over the weekend (always a possibility), the bulls have to be thrilled how things recovered from the April lows. The S&P 500 in early April dipped under 5000 only to see the market average well over 6000 today. That recovery from April has been a more than 23% move if my math is correct. Anyway, the bulls are entrenched on the high ground as we wait for the quarter close on Monday. Next up will be earnings season and a July Fed meeting that just might be more interesting than recent meetings. We’ll be here to keep you all informed. Stay tuned.

Have a great weekend everyone.