8:45am (EST)
Futures are steam-rolling higher this morning, pointing towards a nice open as the market tries to rebound from yesterday’s losses. It looks like the bulls are ready to run once we open but will it be enough to get the Dow to 10,000?
Ahead of the bell, Dow futures are up 47, to 9,765. S&P 500 futures are higher by 6, to 1,066, while the Nasdaq 100 futures have climbed 11, to 1,739.
The first hurdle to clear this morning will be the housing price numbers which are due out at 10am. The Federal Reserve also kicks off its two-day interest rate meeting today, and although they don’t comment on the first day, interest rates are expected to remain unchanged when they announce Wednesday. Also, the U.S. Treasury is selling $45 billion in two-year notes so we will have to see what impact this could have on the market.
It looks like the cruise industry is enjoying better times…Carnival (CCL, $32.00) is trading higher by $1.65, to $33.65, after reporting better-than-expected earnings this morning. Ditto for ConAgra Foods (CAG, $22.33) as it reported 1Q results that topped Wall Street’s expectations.
As far as stocks we are watching, Citigroup (C, $4.43) is up 14 cents, Research In Motion (RIMM, $84.16) is trading near $85, and Dendreon (DNDN, $29.46) is up 44 cents to $29.90. Subscribers, check the Members Area for the trade updates…











Homes Sales Data Pulls Market Lower
Thursday, September 24th, 2009
1:10pm (EST)
The market got off to a good start after the Labor Department reported the number of newly laid off workers seeking unemployment benefits fell for a third week in a row. Initial claims for unemployment insurance fell by 21,000 last week to 530,000, which was better than the 550,000 Wall Street had expected.
The upward momentum was lost once the housing numbers came out at 10am. The National Association of Realtors spoiled the party when they reported existing home sales declined 2.7% in August compared to a 7.2% pop in July. That took the wind out of the bull’s sails as they had been expecting a fifth straight increase.
I had mentioned that yesterday’s afternoon sell-off wasn’t a good sign and we will have to watch for that today. With earnings season right around the corner, it seems we could have a battle for position as both the bulls and bears try and get an early jump.
The negative bias today has taken us out a few of our trades. But not before we booked our profits. There is one trade I like right now and I have been waiting for the breakdown in the stock before recommending a put option trade. Subscribers, check the Members Area for the update.
Rick@MomentumOptionsTrading.com
Tags: Homes Sales Data, options blog, options trade picks
Posted in Market Analysis, Market Commentary | Comments Off