Friday, 24 Apr 2015 - AMC

Dow +21.45 at 18080.14, Nasdaq +36.02 at 5092.08, S&P +4.76 at 2117.69

As the market is still volatile, technology sector is the one that led the market higher. Over at Euro side, there is a Eurogroup meeting on Friday and China is still struggling to stay afloat. Nonetheless I think the market might react to the bad economic data on Friday and we would see some more profit taking to end the week.

Direction for Friday 24 Apr, 2015; Down

NASDAQ continues to outperform, despite economic data remaining in divergence. However it looks like the market ain't going anywhere higher. Same goes to NASDAQ after it started off with a spike gain. More like a speculation to me and I am skeptical about market on going higher.                                     

Market Summary

Industry Watch

Strong: Consumer Discretionary, Technology, Materials, Utilities

Weak: Consumer Staples, Energy, Financials, Health Care, Industrials

Other Market Moving Factor:

• March durable orders beat expectations (+4.0%; Briefing.com consensus +0.5%), but defense-related aircraft orders overshadow weak business investment
• Amazon.com (AMZN) reports better than expected results
• Q1 revenue growth remains scarce
• Greece remains in limbo

[BRIEFING.COM] The stock market wrapped up a strong week with a record finish even as economic data remained weak. The S&P 500 settled higher by 0.2% and registered a fresh record closing high at 2117.69 while the Nasdaq Composite (+0.7%) outperformed and posted another record close. Tragically, the Dow Jones Industrial Average could only add 0.1%, remaining 1.2% below its nominal record closing high from early March. 

The Nasdaq surged out of the gate with several large components registering large gains in reaction to earnings. Amazon.com (AMZN 445.10, +55.11) surpassed revenue estimates and reported better than expected operating income. The retailer's loss of $0.12/share did not deter investors from sending the stock higher by 14.1%. Meanwhile another consumer discretionary component—Starbucks (SBUX 51.84, +2.41)—surged 4.9% after its in-line report overshadowed cautious guidance. Thanks to the two names, the consumer discretionary sector (+1.4%) ended well ahead of other groups. 

However, Amazon and Starbucks were just partially responsible for the relative strength in the Nasdaq. Two tech sector (+0.9%) heavyweights—Google (GOOGL 573.66, +16.20) and Microsoft (MSFT 47.87, +4.53)—spiked 2.9% and 10.5%, respectively following earnings. Microsoft soared in reaction to better than expected results, while Google missed on earnings and revenue, which may explain why the stock "only" went up 2.9%. 

It is worth noting that the handful of giants overshadowed a weak performance from many other Nasdaq components. For instance, chipmakers retreated across the board. The PHLX Semiconductor Index fell 1.7% with Maxim Integrated (MXIM 32.78, -1.96) leading the group lower. Shares of MXIM fell 5.6% after disappointing revenue overshadowed a bottom-line beat. Meanwhile, KLA-Tencor (KLAC 58.89, -0.96) beat estimates and announced plans to reduce its workforce, but still ended lower by 1.6% amid some concerns about the company's outlook. 

Similar to chipmakers, biotech names struggled with iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (IBB 363.70, -3.98) falling 1.1%. Most notably, Biogen (BIIB 401.71, -28.57) fell 6.6% after missing earnings and revenue estimates even though the company still reported 20.0% year-over-year revenue growth. However, the bar was set even higher for this large component of an industry group that has made a major contribution to the Nasdaq's rally to record highs, today notwithstanding. For its part, the health care sector (-0.3%) spent the day in the red as biotech weighed. 

Staying in the health care sector, Mylan (MYL 76.06, +2.37) made an intraday offer to acquire Perrigo (PRGO 192.89, -8.74) for $205/share in cash and stock, but Perrigo was quick to reject that offer. Elsewhere, another potential deal fell through with antitrust concerns likely playing a part as Comcast (CMCSA 59.64, +0.41) terminated its pursuit of Time Warner Cable (TWC 155.26, +6.50). Shares of TWC rallied 4.4% amid speculation the company may now be an attractive target for Charter Communications (CHTR 185.75, +2.17). 

As mentioned earlier, consumer discretionary and technology sectors posted solid gains, which kept the S&P 500 in the green. Materials (+0.8%) and utilities (+1.0%) also posted solid gains, but the two groups account for just over 6.0% of the entire market. 

Going back to influential sectors, financials (-0.2%), industrials (-0.4%), and energy (-0.6%) spent the entire day in negative territory. The energy sector was pressured by crude oil, which fell 1.0% to $57.18/bbl, while Dow component, ExxonMobil (XOM 86.97, -0.57), kept pace with the sector. 

Moving on, the industrial sector was pressured by some of its large components like Dow member, Boeing (BA 148.40, -1.47), which fell 1.0% while transport stocks also lagged following disappointing results and guidance from Landstar (LSTR 64.49, -1.44). The freight carrier lost 2.2% while the Dow Jones Transportation Average shed 0.3%. To be fair, airlines bucked the trend after American Airlines (AAL 52.70, +1.25) beat estimates; however, the stock is not a member of the DJTA so its strength in that arena showed up through peers like Delta Airlines (DAL 46.98, +0.55) and United Continental (UAL 63.51, +0.71). 

On the international front, representatives from Greece met with the Eurogroup in Riga today, but once again, the meeting ended without any concrete solutions. The prolonged negotiations appear to be getting more tense with Bloomberg reporting that unnamed euro area finance ministers have called Greek Finance Minister a "time-waster, gambler, and an amateur." 

Treasuries posted modest gains with the 10-yr yield falling three basis points to 1.92%. The entire advance occurred in the wake of today's Durable Orders, which seemed ok at first glance: 

• Durable goods orders increased 4.0% in March after declining an unrevised 1.4% in February while the Briefing.com consensus expected an increase of 0.5% 
  • The entire March gain resulted from increased transportation demand, specifically from the defense-related aircraft sector 
    • Defense aircraft orders increased 112.8% in March with total aircraft orders increasing 43.8% after declining 8.3% in February 
    • Motor vehicle and parts orders increased 5.4% 
  • Excluding transportation, durable goods orders declined 0.2% in March after declining a downwardly revised 1.3% (from -0.6%) in February while the consensus expected an increase of 0.4% 
    • After declining 2.2% in February, orders of nondefense capital goods excluding aircraft declined 0.5% in March 
    • Shipments, which factor into first quarter GDP growth, declined 0.4% in March after increasing 0.1% in February 

There is no data scheduled for Monday. 

• Nasdaq Composite +7.0% YTD 
• Russell 2000 +5.0% YTD 
• S&P 500 +2.8% YTD 
• Dow Jones Industrial Average +1.4% YTD

Week in Review: Nasdaq Sets Fresh Record Closing High 

The stock market began the week on an upbeat note with the S&P 500 (+0.9%) erasing the bulk of its decline from Friday. The benchmark index reclaimed its 50-day moving average (2,086) at the start and spent the remainder of the day near its early high while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (+1.2%) and Nasdaq Composite (+1.3%) outperformed. Global equity markets enjoyed a strong start to the week after the People's Bank of China lowered the reserve requirement ratio for all banks to 18.5% from 19.5%. The 100-basis point cut was the largest such move since November 2008 and was implemented in hopes of avoiding a slowdown in China's economic growth. The easing news from China helped markets in Europe register broad gains with investors overlooking the latest Greece-related developments. Specifically, the Greek government has requested local governments to transfer their cash balances to the Bank of Greece as the troubled sovereign continues scrambling for funds ahead of the next IMF payment deadline. All ten sectors registered solid gains with five groups adding more than 1.0%. The top-weighted technology sector (+1.8%) ended in the lead after climbing throughout the session with large cap components fueling the move. 

Equity indices ended Tuesday on a mixed note with the Dow and S&P 500 losing 0.5% and 0.2%, respectively, while the Nasdaq Composite (+0.4%) outperformed. The trading day was relatively quiet as equity indices diverged during the opening hour of action and maintained narrow ranges into the afternoon. The S&P 500 opened with a nine-point gain, but was back near its flat line before the opening hour ended. For its part, the Nasdaq spent the day near its early high thanks to solid gains among biotech names after Teva Pharmaceutical (TEVA 64.14, +0.85) offered to acquire Mylan (MYL 74.11, +6.06) for $82.00/share in cash and stock. The two names posted respective gains of 1.3% and 8.9% while the iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (IBB 364.50, +6.55) settled higher by 1.8%. Furthermore, the health care sector advanced 0.7% and was the only sector with a gain larger than 0.1%. 

The major averages registered modest Wednesday gains with the S&P 500 (+0.5%) ending ahead of the Nasdaq Composite (+0.4%). Overall, the session was very quiet as the key indices spent the day in a slow advance. Intraday trading volume highlighted that dynamic, but more than 735 million shares changed hands at the NYSE floor by the close, representing the highest total of the week. All ten sectors registered gains with the top-weighted technology sector (+1.1%) ending in the lead. The influential group was underpinned by daylong strength in shares of MasterCard (MA 91.20, +3.43) and Visa (V 68.01, +2.66) after it was reported China will allow foreign card processors to compete with UnionPay, which is the only company that processes yuan-denominated card payments at this time. Meanwhile, tech heavyweights like Apple (AAPL 128.62, +1.71), Google (GOOGL 549.18, +6.25), and Microsoft (MSFT 42.98, +0.35) joined the rally in progress. 

On Thursday, the stock market posted its second consecutive gain with the S&P 500 (+0.2%) notching a fresh intraday record high at 2,120.49. More notably, the Nasdaq Composite (+0.4%) set a fresh closing record high at 5,056.06, which eclipsed the previous peak (5,048.62), registered on March 10, 2000. Strikingly, the advance occurred after Manufacturing PMI readings from China (49.2; consensus 49.6) and Japan (49.7; expected 50.8) missed expectations while European economies also delivered disappointing manufacturing surveys. Economic data did not improve much by the start of the U.S. session with the New Home Sales report for March missing expectations (481K; Briefing.com consensus 520K). Furthermore, a large portion of quarterly reports received since Wednesday‘s close failed to show year-over-year revenue growth, which has been a recurring theme during this earnings season. Normally, the aforementioned combination would serve as a recipe for weakness in equities, but instead, the macro and micro concerns morphed into expectations that the Fed would remain at the zero-bound for longer. Treasuries agreed with this assessment and climbed alongside equities, pressuring the 10-yr yield four basis points to 1.94%. Meanwhile, the Dollar Index (97.29, -0.64) fell 0.7% with the euro gaining 0.9% against the greenback (1.0825).

DOW

NASDAQ

S&P

Global Market

ASIA

Asian Markets Close: Japan’s Nikkei -0.8%; Hong Kong’s Hang Seng +0.8%; China’s Shanghai Composite -0.5%
It was another mixed outing for markets in the Asia-Pacific region. Profit-taking weighed on the Nikkei and the Shanghai Composite, yet the Hang Seng staged a nice turnaround and closed up 0.8%. Australia (+1.5%) was the biggest mover on Friday, riding the strength of its metals & mining and resources sectors.

Economic data

• Japan
• Corporate Services Price Index +3.2% year-over-year (expected +3.3%; prior +3.3%)
• All Industries Activity Index +0.1% month-over-month (expected -0.9%; prior +0.5%)
• South Korea
• April Consumer Confidence 104 (expected 102; prior 101)
• Singapore
• Q1 URA Property Index -1.0% (prior -1.1%)
• March industrial production +1.2% month-over-month (expected +0.5%; prior +4.4%); -5.5% year-over-year (expected -5.9%; prior -3.3%)

Equity Markets

• Japan’s Nikkei declined 0.8% and finished near its low for the session. Losses were paced by the consumer non-cyclical (-0.9%), consumer cyclical (-0.8%), and financial (-0.7%) sectors. Secom (-4.0%), Toyota Tsusho (-3.8%), and OKUMA Corp (-3.2%) were the worst-performing issues. Sumitomo Chemical (+6.7%), Sony (+3.4%), and Toho Zinc (+2.6%) led the winners. Out of the 225 index members, 79 ended higher, 135 finished lower, and 11 were unchanged. For the week, the Nikkei was up 1.9%.
• Hong Kong’s Hang Seng increased 0.8%, finishing more than 400 points off its lows for the day and at its high for the session. The consumer cyclical (+2.1%), industrial (+1.2%), and diversified (+0.9%) sectors led the way. HSBC Holdings (+4.2%), Galaxy Entertainment (+3.6%), and Sands China (+2.7%) were the top gainers. China Resources Power Holdings (-1.5%) was the only stock to close more than 1.0% lower. Out of the 50 index members, 35 ended higher, 14 finished lower, and 1 was unchanged. For the week, the Hang Seng increased 1.5%.
• China’s Shanghai Composite declined 0.5%, pressured by profit taking that followed reports of speculation that taxes could be raised on local stock investors. The financial (-2.1%), energy (-1.6%), and technology (-1.1%) sectors were the weak links for the Chinese markets on Friday. For the week, the Shanghai Composite increased 2.5%.
• India’s Sensex declined 1.1% on broad-based selling interest that was concentrated on the industrial (-2.3%), technology (-2.0%), and financial (-1.6%) sectors. Infosys (-6.1%), Cipla Ltd (-3.8%), and Sesa Sterlite (-3.1%) were the biggest decliners. Oil & Natural Gas Corp (+3.1%) and Tata Consultancy Services (+2.1%) topped the list of winners. For the week, the Sensex declined 3.5%.
• Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 increased 1.5% with the bulk of its gains coming right after the start of trading. The gains were led by the metals & mining (+2.8%), resources (+2.7%), and energy (+2.7%) sectors. For the week, the S&P/ASX 200 was up 0.9%.
• Regional advancers: Taiwan +1.2% (+3.6% for the week), Singapore +0.3% (-0.4% for the week), Malaysia +0.9% (+0.9% for the week), Thailand +0.7% (-0.7% for the week), Philippines +0.7% (unchanged for the week), Vietnam +0.8% (-0.1% for the week)
• Regional decliners: South Korea -0.6% (+0.8% for the week), Indonesia -0.02% (+0.5% for the week)

FX

• USD/CNY -0.06% at 6.1948
• USD/INR +0.5% at 63.591
• USD/JPY -0.1% at 119.52

EUROPE

Major European indices have retreated from their best levels of the session. France’s CAC has returned to its flat line while the remaining markets hold gains. Today’s meeting between Greek officials and the Eurogroup did not yield any results with reports indicating some regional finance ministers are losing their patience with their Greek counterpart, Yanis Varoufakis.

• Germany’s April Ifo Business Climate Index rose to 108.6 from 107.9 (expected 108.4) as Current Assessment improved to 113.9 from 112.1 (consensus 112.4) while Business Expectations declined to 103.5 from 103.9 (expected 104.5)
• Spain’s PPI -1.2% year-over-year (prior -1.6%)

Closing Prices

• UK’s FTSE: + 0.2%
• Germany’s DAX: + 0.7%
• France’s CAC: + 0.4%
• Spain’s IBEX: + 0.7%
• Portugal’s PSI: + 0.9%
• Italy’s MIB Index: + 1.0%
• Irish Ovrl Index: + 0.5%
• Greece ASE General Index: + 3.4%

Macroeconomic Data

Economic Data

from Briefing.com

• Durable Orders : 4.0% vs 0.5% (Prior -1.4%)
• Durable Orders ex-transportation : -0.2% vs 0.5% (Prior -1.3% - Down)

DURABLE ORDERS

Highlights

• Durable goods orders increased 4.0% in March after declining an unrevised 1.4% in February. The Briefing.com Consensus expected durable goods orders to increase 0.5%.
• Excluding transportation, durable goods orders declined 0.2% in March after declining a downwardly revised 1.3% (from -0.6%) in February. The consensus expected these orders to increase 0.4%.

Key Factors

• This was one report where the headline explains absolutely nothing about the intricacies of the manufacturing sector.
• The entire March gain was the result of increased transportation demand, specifically from the defense-related aircraft sector. Defense aircraft orders increased 112.8% in March. Total aircraft orders increased 43.8% after declining 8.3% in February. Motor vehicle and parts orders increased 5.4%.
• The drop in orders outside of transportation was more in-line with the poor results of the regional Federal Reserve manufacturing surveys. Those surveys revealed contractions in new orders in every area of the country except for Philadelphia.
• Business investment was weak. After declining 2.2% in February, orders of nondefense capital goods excluding aircraft declined 0.5% in March. Shipments, which factor into first quarter GDP growth, declined 0.4% in March after increasing 0.1% in February.
• Orders for new computers were strong, up 11.0% in March after increasing 0.9% in February. That gain, however, was more than offset by declines in communications equipment (-5.3%), machinery (-1.5%), and electrical equipment (-1.1%).

Big Picture

• Orders of nondefense capital goods excluding aircraft, a proxy for business investment, have declined for the past 7 consecutive months.

Market Internals

NYSE:

Lower Volumes than the day before – 669.2M vs 797.5M 


Advancers outpaced Decliners (adv/dec): 1523 / 1494

New Highs outpaced New Lows (highs/lows): 110 / 8

NASDAQ:

Higher Volumes than the day before – 1871.7M vs 1843.0M

Decliners outpaced Advancers (adv/dec): 1285 / 1490

New Highs outpaced New Lows (highs/lows): 127 / 35

VOLATILITY S&P500 (VIX)
12.29 -0.19 (-1.52%)

Internals are not going anywhere too and it is not exactly that bullish. VIX is showing a reversal pattern and we might see a correction in the market real soon.               

Technical Updates

DOW JONES INDUSTRIAL AVERAGE ($INDU: CBOT)

18,018.14 +21.45 (+0.12%)

Volume: 119,130,755 (above average of 100,602,187)
Range: 18,009.08 - 18,108.87

NASDAQ COMPOSITE INDEX ($COMPQ.IDX: NASDAQ)

5,092.09 +36.02 (+0.71%)
Volume: 467,318,920 (above average of 441,999,262)

Range: 5,081.21 - 5,100.37

S&P 500 INDEX (SPX: CBOE)

2,117.69 +4.76 (+0.23%)

Volume: 555,376,000 (above average of 544,367,523)

Range: 2,112.80 - 2,120.92 

There seems to be a breakout for NASDAQ. But it looks more like a false breakout. The other two indices are unable to overcome their resistance levels. And S&P is close to reach a new high too. Can we see a breakout? I don't feel too confident about it...

Commodities

Closing Commodities: Oil And Precious Metals Sell-Off

• Despite some weakness seen in the dollar index, oil, gold and silver traded lower all day
• Oil and silver recovered some, but gold finished today’s floor session near today’s low
• Copper futures held its gains, which began overnight following news that Shanghai warehouse stockpiles fell 10% from last Friday
• May copper closing pit trading $0.04 higher at $2.73/lb
• June crude oil fell $0.48 to $57.18/barrel.
• Back to precious metals, June gold lost $19.10 to $1175.30/oz, while May silver fell $0.22 to $15.64/oz

Energy

• June crude oil futures fell $0.48/barrel to $57.18/barrel
• May natural gas closed flat at $2.57/MMBtu
• RBOB Gasoline closed $0.01 higher at $2.00/gallon
• Heating oil closed flat at $1.93/gallon

Highlights:

• Crude Oil and Natural Gas: The Baker Hughes U.S. oil rig count declined by 31 rigs to 703 total, while the total total U.S. natural gas rig count rose by 8 rigs to 225 total.

Agriculture

• May corn closed $0.07 lower to $3.64/bushel
• July wheat closed $0.13 lower to $4.89/bushel
• July soybeans closed $0.10 lower at $9.70/bushel
• Ethanol closed $0.02 lower to $1.60/gallon
• Sugar #11 closed 0.14 cents higher to 13.23 cents/lb

Metals

• June gold ended today’s session $19.10 lower to $1175.30/oz
• May silver closed $0.22 lower at $15.64/oz
• May copper closed $0.04 higher to $2.73/lb

Currencies

Dollar Falls

• The dollar fell today against most majors, as the U.S. Dollar Index failed to rally above its 50-day moving average and traded down 0.31% to 96.98
• EUR/USD rallied 0.36% to $1.0855
  • The Eurogroup summit in Latvia provided no resolution on Greece, as expected
  • The April reading of the German Ifo Business Climate Index was 108.6, higher than expectations and the 107.9 in April
• USD/JPY fell 0.56% to 118.94
• Kiwi fell early after Reserve Bank of New Zealand Assistant Governor John McDermott warned that a rate cut might be necessary
  • The Kiwi has been a hot currency among carry traders for the past several months because it still has significantly positive yield
  • NZD/USD: +0.25% to $0.7598
• AUD/USD: +0.64% to $0.7822
• USD/CAD: +0.13% to 1.2169
• USD/CHF: -0.16% to 0.9543

* Carry trades are where an investor/trader seeks to own high-interest rate currencies against short positions in other so-called "funding" currencies. The idea is to collect the higher interest rate less the lower interest rate (assuming the spot rate remains stable). Given some leverage, this can be very profitable, but exposes the popular currency pairs for these trades to bouts of volatility if the pair begins to decline in value

Bonds

Treasuries Rally on Weak Durable Goods Data

• Weak underlying data in the Durable Goods Orders report spurred buying in the Treasury complex that left only the bond with significant losses for the week
• Yield check:
  • 2-yr: -2 bps to 0.51%
  • 5-yr: -4 bps to 1.32%
  • 10-yr: -4 bps to 1.92%
  • 30-yr: -4 bps to 2.61%

• News:
  • The Eurogroup met in Riga today, although eurozone officials had been downplaying the prospect of an agreement all week
    • As expected, Greek Finance Minister Varoufakis and the Eurogroup made no progress
    • The Greek 10-year note yield ended the day up 40 basis points to 12.54%
  • The German Ifo Business Climate Index for April rose to 108.6, higher than both expectations and the 107.9 from April
  • Durable goods orders rose 4% in March versus an unrevised 1.4% increase in February. The Briefing.com consensus was looking for +0.5%
    • The entire March gain was the result of increased transportation demand, specifically from the defense-related aircraft sector
    • The drop in orders outside of transportation was more in-line with the poor results of the regional Federal Reserve manufacturing surveys. Those surveys revealed contractions in new orders in every area of the country except for Philadelphia
    • Business investment was weak. After declining 2.2% in February, orders of nondefense capital goods excluding aircraft declined 0.5% in March. Shipments, which factor into first quarter GDP growth, declined 0.4% in March after increasing 0.1% in February
  • The Nasdaq Composite rose to a record high of 5,100.37 and was up 0.65% to 5,089.11 at the pixel

• Commodities:
  • WTI Crude declined 1.02% to $57.15/bbl
  • Gold fell sharply, down 1.41% to $1,177.50/troy oz.
  • Copper gained 1.58% to $2.7365/lb.

• Currencies:
  • Despite the lack of progress on Greece, EUR/USD gained 0.49% to $1.0870
  • USD/JPY: -0.63% to 118.87

• Week Ahead:
  • Monday: $26 billion 2-year note auction (results at 13:00 ET)
  • Tuesday: February Case-Shiller 20-City Index (09:00 ET); April Consumer Confidence (10:00 ET); $35 billion 5-year note auction (results at 13:00 ET)
  • Wednesday: MBA Mortgage Index for the week ending 4/25 (07:00 ET); Q1 GDP-Advanced Estimate (08:30 ET); Q1 Chain Deflator-Adv (08:30 ET); March Pending Home Sales (10:00 ET); Crude Inventories for the week ending 4/25 (10:30 ET); April FOMC Rate Decision (14:00 ET); $29 billion 7-year note auction (results at 13:00 ET)
  • Thursday: Initial Jobless Claims for the week ending 4/25 and Continuing Claims for the week ending 4/18 (08:30 ET); March Personal Income and Personal Spending (08:30 ET); March PCE Prices -- Core (08:30 ET); Q1 Employment Cost Index (08:30 ET); April Chicago PMI (09:45 ET); Natural Gas Inventories for the week ending 4/25 (10:30 ET)
  • Friday: Cleveland Fed President Mester speaks on "Issues in Consumer Credit" (08:30 ET); April ISM Index (10:00 ET); March Construction Spending (10:00 ET); April Michigan Sentiment -- Final (10:00 ET); San Francisco Fed Williams speaks on "Monetary Policy in Financial Markets; Is There a New Paradigm?" (15:45 ET); April Auto and Truck Sales (17:00 ET)

Treasury Yields:

• 2 Year Note 0.54% -0.01
• 5 Year Note 1.34% -0.03
• 10 Year Note 1.93% -0.03
• 30 Year Bond 2.62% -0.01

2/30 Spread: 208 bps ( UNCH ) …  2/10 Spread: 139 bps ( -2 )

Preview for the week Monday 27 Apr to Friday 1 May, 2015

 

Economic Data

Monday (27 Apr) :

• No Economic Data

Tuesday (28 Apr) :

• Case-Shiller 20-city Index : 4.7% (Prior 4.6%)
• Consumer Confidence : 102.2 (Prior 101.3)

Wednesday (29 Apr) :

• MBA Mortgage Index : (Prior 2.3%) 
• GDP-Adv. : 1.1% (Prior 2.2%)
• Chain Deflator-Adv. : 0.5% (Prior 0.1%)
• Pending Home Sales : 1.6% (Prior 3.1%)
• Crude Inventories : (Prior 5.315M)
• FOMC Rate Decision : 0.25% (Prior 0.25%)

Thursday (30 Apr) :

• Initial Claims : 290K (Prior 295K)
• Continuing Claims : 2318K (Prior 2325K)
• Personal Income : 0.2% (Prior 0.4%) 
• Personal Spending : 0.5% (Prior 0.1%)
• PCE Prices - Core : 0.2% (Prior 0.1%)
• Employment Cost Index : 0.6% (Prior 0.6%)
• Chicago PMI : 50.0 (Prior 46.3)
• Natural Gas Inventories : (Prior 90 bcf)

Friday (1 May) :

• ISM Index : 52.0 (Prior 51.5)
• Construction Spending : 0.4% (Prior -0.1%)
• Michigan Sentiment - Final : 96.0 (Prior 95.9)
• Auto Sales : (Prior 5.4M)
• Truck Sales : (Prior 8.2M)

Earnings Highlights

Monday (27 Apr) :
BMO - ACW CYOU HAE INCR LH MCY ONB OSIS PLT BPOP PDS QSR ROP STNG SILC SOHU TNC TEN
AMC - ADVS ARE ALSN ACC AGNC AFG AMKR AAPL AVB CUDA ABX BXP BRXCHRW CDNS CHDN CMP TCS CR CTS DAC RE GGP GIG HIG HTLF HT HMST IPHS JJSF JLL MDCA MSA NBTB OLN OSTK OMI PRE PWRD PCL PMCS QTS RCII RTEC SSW SIMO SSNC SWFT UDR UHS WRB WNC WCN

Tuesday (28 Apr) :
BMO - FLWS CAS AET AMG AGCO GAS AIXG AKS ALLY AXE AUO AUDC BSX BPBMY CCG CPLA CARB CNC CBR CIR CIT COH CNX GLW OFC CRY CTG CMI DFRG DORM ECL ENTG ETR FCF FMER FSRV FBC F FELE FDP GPI HSII HMC HSP ICLR IDXX IIVI IPI IPGP JEC JBLU LRN LXK MAS MCGC MHFI MRK MRGE MDXG NOV NCI NEO OSK PH PAG PFE PHG POR PROV SC SALT SIR ST SERV SIAL SIRI STCK SVU XRS TXT TMUS TRS TWIN UMBF UBSI UTHR UPS VLO VDSI WDR WAT WHR WWW WYN YNDX
AMC - ACHC AEGN AFL AKAM AHGP ARLP ANIK ARI AMCC ACGL APAM AZPN BLDP BGFV BMR HAWK BXMT BWLD CALX CBL CGI CHE CINF CRUS CNL CLF CEB CMRE DDR DHT BOOM EIX ESRT EPIQ EPR EQR EEFT EXAC XCO ESRX FARO FEIC FFIC GNW GPRO GPRE HLIT HELE HIW HURN IPHI IACI INAP IGT KAI KALU KBR KFRC KRFT LOGM MTSI MRCY MSTR MWA NANO NATI NCR NVDQ OHI OTEX OI PNRA PEI PSEM PSB RSYS RRC RNST RNG RPXC SBCF SFS SWI TAHO SKT TE TPX TSS CLUB TRMK TWTR SLCA X ULTI VRSK VRTS WRI WSBC WDC WSH WYNN XOOM AUY

Wednesday (29 Apr) :
BMO - ABB ACCO ADT ALR AMED AME ANTM AVY BGCP BOKF BC CCJ CG CRI CBG CBZ FUN CVE GIB CFR CUBI DHX DXYN DX ETN EDR EVER EXC FDML FCH FCAU BEN FI GRMN GD GEL GT GWB GRUB HERO HES HLT HCBK HUM ICON ISSI IDCC IP LVLT LINE LFUS LL MA MWV MTOR MDLZ NYCB NEE NOR NSC NOCNCLH OIIM OCR PCG PX Q REV ROL RES SAIA SLGN SLAB SPIL SO SPR SAVE SPW HOT SNCR TRI TWX UMC VRX WOOF WM WCIC WEX
AMC - AKR AFFX DOX MTGE AEL ARII AMSF AR ANH ARRS ASH ATRC ATW AVG AXS BIDU BSAC BLKB SAM CBT CACI CWT CMO CSII CSCD CAVM CRL CHMT CMPR CNO COHR FIX CNW CSGP CUB CW DXCM DRWI DRE DNB DYAX ELX ELGX ESV EPE EQIX EQY ES EXL EXR FOE FLEX FORM FORR GLUU LOPE HOLX HOS HY INGN TILE ISIL IO IPCM JBT KAMN KEG KRC KEX KRA KTOS LQ LOCK LNC MAC MTW MN MANT MAR MMLP MDAS MEOH MAA MEP MC MOMO MUR NCIT NSR NE NFBK NXPI OIS ASGN OGS PEIX PRXL PDM PPC POWI PTC QEP QRVO KWR STR QUIK O RVBD RRTS RKT ROG SIGI SCI SFLY SGI SSS SPOK STAA STMP STNR SU SPRT TAL TCO TEX TX TTEK TFSL TTMI UNM ECOL VAR VRTX WTS WLL WMB WMGI XL YELP

Thursday (30 Apr) :
BMO - ACIWACOR APD ARG ALKS ALLE AB ANR AMT ABC AIT AWI ARW AAWW ADP AVP BLL BCE BZH BDC BKCC BOFI BWA BG CCMP CRR CAH CRS CSH CTRX CDK CELG CLDX GTLS CI CWEI CME CCE CL COMM COP CTCM CVI UAN CVRR CY DLPH DBD DIN UFS ERJ EME ENDP ECYT NPO EPD EXLS STAY XOMFSS FIS FMS FCN GK GLOP GNRC THRM GEO GNC GG GOV GPX GTI HEES HAR HHS HST HUN IDA IMAX INCY INGR I SNAK IVZ ITG IRMD IRDM IRM ITC KVHI LLL LANC LBY LKQ LPLA MGLN MPC VAC MMC MLM MTRN MD MFA MVIS MINI MOSMPLX MSCI MYL NAP NMM NTCT NBIX NYT NCT NI NOK NVO OAK ODFL OMG ORN PCRX PBF PBFX PWE PCYC PSX PSXP PF PES PBI POT QLTI PWR RDWR RGS ROK RDS.A RGLD RYL SBH SCG SEE SNMX SQBG SHPG SKYS SNE SPB SMP STRZA STFC STM TLMR TASR TDY TFX TEVA TWC TKR TWI TREE UPL VLY VNTV VGR VIAB VVI VICL VA WLT WMAR WST WILN WRLD WWE XEL XYL ZMH
AMC - ARAY ADUS AEM LNT AIMC AIG AVD AIV ATR ATHN ADNC AXTI BMRN BCOR EPAY BYD BFAM BCOV BRKS BMTC BVN CAP CLMS CALD CPT CATM CEMP CENX CHSP CLD COHU CXP COLM CPSI CTCT CTRL CROX CUBE CMLS DCT DGI DWA DRC EMN LOCO EGO ELLI EEP EXXI EVHC EXEL EXPE EZPW FRGI FEYE FBP FFBC FPO FSLR FLT FLS FLR FBHS G GERN GILD GSIT HABT THG HCI HLS HME HTCH IMMR PODD IART ISBC XXIA JDSU JUNO KRG LEG LLNW LNKD LYV LRE FISH MTZ MATW MXL MGRC MITK MOBL MRH MRC NFG NKTR NR NTRI OMCL ONTY PE PCCC PDFS PKI PXLW POL PRAA PKT PSA QLGC RGC RJET ROVI RKUS SCSC SQI SGEN SEM SKUL SKYW SWKS SPF SPWR SPN SRDX SYNC TNDM TSYS TNAV TS TER TSRO TXTR TMST TRMB TUES UIL UTI VR V WWWW WU GB INT WSFS YRCW ZFGN

Friday (1 May) : 
BMO - AON BERY BTH BCO BPL CPN CBM CBOE CHTR CVX CLX CTB CVS DUK XLS FE GWR GLPW HPY NSP ITT KCG LM LPNT MSG MNTA MGI TYPE MCO MOG.A MOSY NWL NTLS ZEUS PNW PNM PEG RYAM RUTH SXI SUP TDS TRP USM VFC WY WETF
AMC - AEC BRK.B VNR

Summary

As we are approaching the month of May, it is less likely that the market might still continue to rally. Looking at the market, technology sector is the one that is influencing the market going higher. And it is getting more defensive.

We are going to see more economic data this week and also the FOMC meeting on Wednesday. I think that should give the market some catalyst for a correction perhaps. Furthermore the Greece's debt situation is not settling and it's only the matter of time it will default. Sum up all, I don't think the market would still rally and perhaps a sell in May is more appropriate.

Direction for Monday 27 Apr, 2015; Down

Direction for the week Monday 27 Apr to Friday 1 May, 2015; Down

2015 Daily Directional Accuracy: 30/59 (50.85%) 
2015 Weekly Directional Accuracy: 8/14 (57.14%)