After trading in negative territory for much of the day, U.S. equities grinded modestly higher and finished in the black. The S&P 500 has now closed above the technically important 1110 level for three consecutive days and now sits at 1116.04. Recall that the 1110 level represented a key resistance level to the upside and now represents a key support level to the downside. As mentioned in Wednesday’s piece, consolidation above that level could propel equities higher in coming days and weeks. 

 U.S. equities continued their ascent yesterday as the Dow, Nasdaq, and S&P 500 registered gains of 2.1 percent, 2.8 percent, and 2.3 percent respectively.  With the rally, both the Nasdaq and S&P 500 are now positive for the year and the S&P 500 closed above its technically important 200-day moving average. The market had been trading on a technical basis for some time and this critical close above 1110 on the S&P 500 (closed yesterday at 1115.23) could propel the market higher in coming days and weeks.

U.S. equities ended in positive territory yesterday after a volatile session.  Stock futures are pointing to a positive open this morning after the DOW and S&P each registered gains over 1% yesterday.

 U.S. equities tumbled again on Friday after a weaker than expected non-farm payrolls report fueled speculation that the U.S. recovery is not as strong as some believe.  The payrolls number was significantly lower than the consensus forecast and dominated by short-term consensus workers rather than a much needed pick-up in the private sector.  The street was shocked by the number, particularly in light of comments by President Barack Obama on Wednesday in Pittsburgh when he highlighted how strong the reading was going to be, indicating to many that he already knew the number. Unfortunately, his sanguine remarks were off the mark, precipitating a sharp decline in equities on Friday.

 After one of the worst Mays on record, U.S. equities continued their slide yesterday after trading in positive territory for much of the day. Equities opened significantly weaker out of the gates yesterday after a global sell-off trickled over to our markets. However, after a better than expected ISM Manufacturing report of 59.7, marking the tenth consecutive reading above 50 (recall that a reading above 50 indicates the economy is growing, while a reading below 50 indicates the economy is shrinking), and a stronger than expected construction spending number, U.S. equities rallied for most of the day only to succumb to selling pressure in the last hour of trading.