The market dropped modestly during the final session of the week with the Dow failing to post its ninth straight gain. For the week, both the Dow and the S&P 500 still managed to make an advance. The market has been very quiet recently and we can see that from the 10-day average between intraday lows and highs, which has fallen to 0.8% from 1.8% on Feb 8th. In just two weeks, we are going to get earnings results for Q1. I expect most companies should easily beat expectations. However, the upside should be limited following the recent movements.

Most major sectors finished the session lower led by materials and energy. The CRB commodity index dropped 1.1%. The US dollar was higher against most major currencies. Treasury yields were higher. The three-month US LIBOR advanced 1 bps to 28 bps. The VIX index rose slightly. The market breath was negative on both NYSE and Nasdaq. The volume was heavier compared to the previous session.

The market finished the Thursday in a mixed fashion. The Dow posted its eighth consecutive gain and closed at a new high for the year. The market has risen steadily during the past five weeks, which brought some technical levels to extremes. For example, the number of new highs on NYSE accounted for more than 20% of total issues, which was last seen in late 1990s. The market breadth also hit a historical high during the recent movement. If history is any guidance, the market could see further room to the upside. On the other hand, it is also possible that the upcoming earnings season could bring some profit-taking among investors. Separately, the CPI came unchanged while core CPI rose 0.1%. Initial jobless claims fell by 5K to 457K, the third straight weekly decline. The index of leading indicator, meanwhile, rose 0.1%, the 11th straight gain.  

Most major sectors finished the session little changed. The CRB commodity index dipped 0.2%. The US dollar was higher against most major currencies. Treasury yields were higher. The three-month US LIBOR was unchanged at 27 bps. The VIX index dropped less than 2%. The market breath was positive on both NYSE and Nasdaq. The volume was lighter compared to the previous session.

The market advanced once again on Wednesday. The Dow finally joined the other two major indexes and sit at the highest level since late 2008 after posting its seventh consecutive gain. The Dow has gained over 800 points over the past five weeks although most sessions came with modest gain. The VIX index, which is usually treated as a fear index, dipped below 17 for the first time since January. We should still remember that the market dropped almost 10% after that. Separately, PPI fell 0.6%, more than a drop of 0.2% expected.  

All 10 major sectors finished the session higher led by energy and financials. The CRB commodity index rose 1.0%. The US dollar was lower against most major currencies. Treasury yields were little changed. The three-month US LIBOR increased by 1 bps, to 27 bps. The VIX index dropped 5%. The market breath was positive on both NYSE and Nasdaq. The volume was heavier compared to the previous session.

The market rose modestly in this Fed interest rate decision session. Both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq are now at their highest level since the second half of 2008. Even more remarkably, the S&P 500 has posted gains in eleven out of the past thirteen sessions. In the two cases that it didn’t post a gain, the loss was less than 1 point. The biggest news of the session is of course the Fed rate decision, which has kept the interest rate at zero to 0.25% since December 2008. The Fed continued to say that the interest rate would be kept at record-low levels for an “extended period”. By some estimation, the “extended period” could mean 6 months. In other words, the earliest time that the Fed would raise the benchmark interest rate is this September.

All 10 major sectors finished the session higher led by materials and financials. The CRB commodity index rose 1.0%. The US dollar was lower against most major currencies. Treasury yields were lower. The three-month US LIBOR was unchanged at 26 bps. The VIX index dropped slightly. The market breath was positive on both NYSE and Nasdaq. The volume was heavier compared to the previous session.

The market finished the first session of the new week in a mixed fashion. Traders are hesitant to place heavy bets ahead the FOMC meeting tomorrow. The Fed is expected to make little change in its post-meeting statement. Most economic news for the session came in-line with expectation. The NY Empire State Manufacturing Index slipped to 22.86 in March. Industrial production moved up 0.1% in February and it was the eighth straight gain. Homebuilder sentiment index, meanwhile, slipped in March mostly due to poor weather condition.

Most major sectors finished the session little changed. The CRB commodity index dropped 0.9%. The US dollar was higher against most major currencies. Treasury yields were lower. The three-month US LIBOR was unchanged at 26 bps. The VIX index rose slightly. The market breath was neutral on both NYSE and Nasdaq. The volume was lighter compared to the previous session.