Friends

Stocks were choppy today as the bulls had a difficult time overcoming the Conference Board’s consumer confidence reading which was the lowest in 12 years, showing consumers’ concerns about the economy and the labor market. Respondents also have become negative with their outlook for the stock market, with less than 38% believing that stocks will move higher this year. Sentiment can be a powerful influence when it comes to the economy and the markets. It could also become an interesting contrarian indicator with regards to stocks. Only time will tell.

As for today in the end the bulls were able to squeak out a gain. By the close the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 4 points to finish the day at 42,587. The S&P 500 was up 9 points to close at 5,776. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 83 to close at 18,271. Gold was up $9 to trade at $3,025 per ounce, while oil was up $.01 to trade at $69.12 per barrel WTI.

As we move towards the end of the quarter, putting things into perspective, the S&P is only down about 2% for the year. Yes, it’s down more than that from recent highs but remember we saw stocks go up in the first half of the quarter only to see those gains dissipate in the past several weeks. After the rise we have seen in stocks the last couple of years, giving back a couple of percent in the first quarter of the year would not be anything to overreact to. But we have a few trading days left in the quarter – stay tuned.

Have a nice evening everyone.

Jim