After several days of mostly downward action, the markets rallied broadly to give bulls hopes of retesting and perhaps surpassing previous all-time highs. Recent support has held, and the S&P 500 rebounded back above its 50 day moving average on high volume. Hopes of a Greece bailout deal is primarily what fueled the rally as economic and earnings news is light. Seasonality data can offer clues as to what will happen the rest of the year. To learn more about this, click here: http://www.optionsuniversity.com
Volatility dropped over 8% after Wednesday’s rally. Market sentiment remains mostly neutral, and the CBOE Volatility index (VIX) has returned to the middle of a range that began in early February. Historically, the volatility range is extremely low.
OVERSEAS: European markets were broadly up again as optimism lingers and the time draws near for a resolution on Greece. Asian markets, likewise, were up across the board led by the continued hot streak in the Nikkei. Major Chinese markets also participated in the rally fueled by a sense that the worst may be over for the economic slowdown in China.
OIL: Inventories continue to drop on weaker imports to the tune of 6.8 Million barrels (compared with a 1.9 Million barrel drop the previous week). Crude oil prices appear to be leveling off in the low $60’s per barrel.
JOBS: Jobless claims were up just slightly over the previous week at 279K new claims. This was on the high end of the consensus range of expectations, but moderately so. The overall climate on employment appears to be one of labor markets firming up.
RETAIL: Retail sales rebounded from a weak April, and came in close to expectations. Strength in Auto sales were particularly strong.
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