The market finished the final session of the week in a strong note. By close, all three major indexes were not only at fresh 52-week high but also at their highest level in 19 months. The Dow is now up for eight straight weeks and closed on its 200-week moving average. News that Greece requested $55 billion from the EU and IMF provided investors with some relief overnight. New home sales, similar to existing home sales report yesterday, came in much stronger than expected to an annualized rate of 411K unites after rising 26.9% from the previous month. Durable goods orders fell 1.3% but excluding transportation, it actually spiked 2.8%, which was much stronger than the 0.7% increase expected.

Most major sectors finished the session higher led by materials and energy. The CRB commodity index rose 0.7%. The US dollar was mixed against most currencies. Treasury yields were higher. The three-month US LIBOR was unchanged at 32 bps. The VIX index rose 0.2 point. The market breath was positive on both NYSE and Nasdaq. The volume was on the heavy side.

The market finished the Thurday modestly higher after recovering early losses of as much as 1%. Earnings continued to come in mostly better than expected. But with high water mark, investors were not satisfied with companies merely beating results. As a result, shares of PepsiCo, Qualcomm and eBay were under pressure throughout the session. Economic news came in a mixed fashion. Weekly jobless claims were slightly higher than expected at 456K. PPI increased 0.7% in March while core PPI rose 0.1%, in-line with expectations. Existing home sales for March, meanwhile, came in stronger than expected at 5.35 million units, the highest this year. Homebuyers rushed to take advantage of tax credits that are set to expire soon.

Most major sectors finished the session higher led by materials and consumer discretionary. The CRB commodity index rose 0.1%. The US dollar was higher against most currencies. Treasury yields were higher. The three-month US LIBOR rose 1 bps to 32 bps. The VIX index rose 0.2 point. The market breath was neutral on both NYSE and Nasdaq. The volume was on the heavy side.

The market finished the Wednesday in a mixed fashion. There is some clear rotation within the sectors. Industrials, led by strength in Dow compnents United Tech and Boeing, finished session higher by almost 1%. Health care, on the other hand, finished session lower by almost 2% although most components reported better-than-expected earnings. The latter group has been underperforming since the health bill passed.

Most major sectors finished the session higher led by industrials and consumer discretionary. The CRB commodity index rose 0.4%. The US dollar was higher against most currencies. Treasury yields were lower. The three-month US LIBOR were unchanged at 31 bps. The VIX index rose 0.3 point. The market breath was neutral on both NYSE and Nasdaq. The volume was on the heavy side.

The market rallied for the second straight session although the Dow's gain was somewhat limited by underperformance of several of its components. Most earnings results were better-than-expected. However, investors seemed to become more picky regarding earnings quality. IBM, for example, reported not only better-than-expected top-line and bottom-line results but raised its forecast as well. The stock, however, was down almost 2% as investors were disappointed by its margin. 

All 10 major sectors finished the session higher led by financials and energy. The CRB commodity index rose 0.9%. The US dollar was lower against most currencies. Treasury yields were higher. The three-month US LIBOR were unchanged at 31 bps. The VIX index dropped more than 1 point1. The market breath was positive on both NYSE and Nasdaq. The volume was lighter compared to the previous session.

The market recovered some of its losses from the previous Friday.  Financials, which were hammered due to the SEC charge against Goldman Sachs, provided much of the support in today's trading. News came out today that the SEC decision was only secured with a 3-to-2 vote, suggesting the case might not be that strong after all. In my opinion, the market is due for a correction anyway no matter what happens to Goldman Sachs. There are a couple of potential candidates that can be used as reasons to sell. Debt problem in Europe and slowdown in Chinese economy could be just two of them.

All 10 major sectors finished the session higher led by financials and telecom. The CRB commodity index dropped 1.1%. The US dollar was higher against most currencies. Treasury yields were higher. The three-month US LIBOR were unchanged at 31 bps. The VIX index dropped 1 point. The market breath was positive on both NYSE and Nasdaq. The volume was on the heavy side.