– Signs of a Wall Street sell-off are all over the place, but U.S. stocks might well survive another week relatively unscathed if investors keep betting on sectors less vulnerable to an economic downturn.
Pressure for a correction in the stock market has been building up in the past few weeks as the euro and oil prices fell in tandem, knocking down shares of energy companies and dollar-sensitive multinationals.
Still, investors have averted a broad sell-off by diving into shares of companies that are less vulnerable to the economic cycle, including well-known defensive sectors such as utilities and household products, but also large-cap companies with steady earnings performance.
That strategy may hold the market afloat for a little longer.
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- The Dow and the S&P 500 fell for a third day on Tuesday after disappointing figures from Wal-Mart and Hewlett-Packard, although a late rebound suggested investors may be looking for a short-term bounce.
Both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq dipped below their 50-day moving averages, but those levels appeared to bring in buying interest.
Recent weakness in sectors tied to economic growth and the sharp decline in commodities have spurred talk of a prolonged pullback. Short-term traders see an opportunity, judging by late gains in certain energy names and financials’ strong performance on Tuesday.
The cyclical stocks are “easy to buy out there. We’re not having any trouble buying them for clients,” said Kevin Kruszenski, head of listed trading at KeyBanc Capital Markets in Cleveland.
“There will be a tradable bounce, but it still feels like they are under distribution,” he said, using traders’ parlance for selling.
Lately investor concern has centered around lackluster economic figures. Read more…
– Defensive shares led a rebound in stocks on Thursday as investors weighed mixed economic signals and recent volatility in commodities as they searched for direction.
The Dow industrials fell nearly 100 points in the morning but recovered later after a lackluster auction of 30-year U.S. bonds and headlines suggesting negotiations to raise the U.S. debt ceiling had intensified.
The strong performance by defensive shares, such as health care and consumer staples, suggested investors were still attracted to stocks while other asset classes made them more nervous.
“Fixed income investments don’t seem very attractive at the current yield. There’s some concern about commodities. The volatility has scared a lot of people away, so I think a lot of investors are sitting back and saying, ‘Where can I put my money?’ and the stock market is that,” said Channing Smith, co-manager of the Capital Advisors Growth Fund in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI was up 65.89 points, or 0.52 percent, at 12,695.92.
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Life can become hectic with schedules changing and tasks to carry out. I know a lot of you can relate out there, especially when it comes to juggling our day to day activities, whether at work or errands for your family and home. This is where time management comes in and having the insight to manage what you do, as well as when to do it, will certainly make life easier.
A lot of times people tend to think that if they do the small tasks first, they are starting off on the right foot. But there are time management experts who say that you should do the opposite. Imagine waking up in the morning and doing the lightest or smallest possible task; what if you have 10 of these ‘little’ tasks to do? You would end up spending the entire day catering to things that aren’t so important. So instead of dealing with time this way, do the opposite by taking care of the heaviest possible task at hand. This
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– Stock investors head into next week with added worries about the sustainability of the recent rally and a desire to reduce risk, as shown by the stampede out of commodities on Thursday.
Stocks also will begin to lose the support they’ve enjoyed from stronger-than-expected earnings since the first-quarter reporting period is almost at an end.
The drop in commodities this week spilled over into commodity-related stocks, which were among the top performers in the last two quarters.
The Standard & Poor’s energy index .GSPE ended the week down 7 percent, its biggest weekly drop in a year, and the iShares Silver Trust suffered its worst week of outflows ever after heavy losses in the precious metal.
While the commodities rout may be done for now, it has left many investors worried about the ramifications.
“It’s hard to pinpoint the time when the bubble bursts and hard to go against the current, but when it bursts it’s precipitous usually,” said Natalie Trunow, senior vice president and chief investment officer of equities at Calvert Asset Management Company in Bethesda, Maryland, which manages about $14.8 billion in assets and is underweight energy.
With first-quarter earnings and also the Federal Reserve’s QE2 purchasing program coming to an end, the stock market could be vulnerable to some weakness in the short term, she said.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if we had a somewhat softer summer or somewhat softer next couple of months,” said Trunow, who said she is still positive on the U.S.
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– U.S. stocks slipped on Monday, as an early bounce on Osama bin Laden’s death gave way to questions around the longevity of the market’s recent rally.
The impact of bin Laden’s death by U.S. forces on financial markets prompted a quick flurry of buying, which was viewed as an emotional response. The Dow swung 92 points from its high of the day to its low.
“His death should not have affected the markets much … just people feeling a little better about the world sometimes impacts the stock market,” said Bryant Evans, investment adviser and portfolio manager at Cozad Asset Management, in Champaign, Illinois.
Energy and materials were the weakest performers. Investors pulled back from shares that have outperformed lately following declines in commodities. The S&P energy index .GSPE was down 1.3 percent.
U.S.
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Its a time for joy – A time for tears – A time well treasure – Through the years – Well remember always Graduation Day (song- JAN-1991)
Congratulations on attaining your degree! A special time and a proud accomplishment You did it! Youre finished! With school that is – now its time to do some learning about the survival techniques in the World of Work in a competitive environment. Are you ready to take the next steps?
Hopefully you have a good resume prepared, if not, that will be your first priority! Need help? Many colleges have career centers that are willing to help you with your resume, but if you dont have that option try the resume help of the top job search engines or find a resume expert on Linkedin/Facebook. The aim of this resume is to create enough interest to garner you an invite for a job interview.
Start by doing research on job postings and companies that may interest you. There are
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– The Nasdaq jumped to a 10-year high as U.S. stocks rallied on Wednesday after Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke’s first-ever press conference did nothing to short-circuit investors’ optimistic outlook on the economy.
All three major U.S. stock indexes extended gains after comments from Bernanke at his press conference, where he reiterated the Fed’s stance that inflation was a transitory problem related largely to commodity price pressures.
The Nasdaq Composite Index closed at 2,869.88, its highest close since December 12, 2000.
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– The dollar hovered around three-year lows on Friday and looked set to come under further pressure next week, while a stronger yen weighed on Tokyo stocks in holiday-thinned Good Friday trade.
Gold hit a fresh all-time high of $1,509 an ounce, extending its record-breaking rally to a sixth session, as the weaker dollar prodded investors toward assets less reliant on the U.S. economy.
The dollar index .DXY was steady at 73.99 against a basket of major currencies after slipping to its lowest since mid-2008 on Thursday, weighed down by expectations that the Federal Reserve will keep interest rates at record lows for some time to come and by bitter divisions in Washington over how to slash the gaping budget deficit.
Analysts said it could extend recent losses next week, with all eyes now on its record low of 70.698 struck in March 2008.
“The biggest reason behind the fall is waning investor confidence in U.S.
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