Blue chip stocks (SPY) closed the latest regular session at $110.82, up 0.9% from the prior close.
In total, 3.1 billion shares were traded on the three major U.S. stock exchanges, down 6.1% from yesterday.
On the jump, mediawatch, rules, econ reports, portfolio and a good book...
Mediawatch: The AP narrative is headlined, "Stocks rebound as Bernanke sees rates staying low." Reality check: Bernanke's testimony was released at 10 a.m. Eastern. Stocks peaked for the second time in the day at 10:19 a.m., and then began a steady decline until 2:40 p.m., and then rose again. Bernanke has already said that rates will stay low for awhile. He's said it until he is blue in the face. Like a short, bald Na'vi. Oh, and did I mention that the close today is about the same as the open yesterday, so that the net movement across the two days is negative 4 cents? I just wish that market writers would look at intra-day charts before drawing such nonsensical conclusions. And look at price levels. Just sayin'. | Second book in the Rich Dad, Poor Dad series. More life-changing than Harry Potter! |
My rules allow trades in March iron condors and covered calls, along with butterfly and calendar spreads, and both March and April vertical spreads. I allow myself to trade unhedged call and put option purchases that expire in May or later.
Reports on factory durable goods orders and weekly jobless claims will be released at 8:30 a.m. Eastern.
The durables are things that people or companies use for a long time -- a car, a TV set, an airplane -- as opposed to consumables. They tend to be more expensive items, and if orders are up, then that means decision-makers are more willing to spend money. I think of it as measuring yet another aspect of consumer and producer confidence.
The weekly jobless claims show how many new claims for unemployment benefits have been filed. It's provides the freshest glimpse into the state of the job market.
Both reports can have significant impacts on how the markets view economic prospects, and so influence stock and bond prices.
Also, Fed Chair Ben Bernanke testifies before Congress again, at 10 a.m., this time on the Senate side. His House testimony on Wednesday was pretty much surprise free. I suspect Thursday's testimony will be equally so.
My portfolio consists of . . .
March expiry:
- AKS, iron condor, p19/-p20/-p25/p26
- CAL, covered call, s/-c19
- CSCO, iron condor, p22/-p23/-c25/c26
- GCI, covered call, s/-c15
- WFC, iron condor, p26/-p27/-c29/c30
Zombie shares: MCO, PALM.
Good trading!
New to private trading? Here's a look at How to Become a Private Trader.
Topics: S&P 500, SPDR, Spiders, AK Steel Holdings, Alpine Dynamic Dividend closed-end fund, Continental Airlines aviation, Cisco Systems networking, Gannett newspapers media, Moodys bond rating, Annaly Capital Management, Palm smartphone Pixi Pri, Wells Fargo bank financial.
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