Quiet day, quiet week…

Stocks for the most part eked out modest gains this week as volatility remains dormant. For the week, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (chart) finished up 0.26%, the Nasdaq (chart) +0.41%, the S&P 500 (chart) +0.33% and the Russell 2000(chart) actually ticked down less than a quarter of a percent.

The S&P 500 (chart) did manage to close at its highest level in almost four years, however, oil keeps creeping higher as well and closed at almost $110 a barrel. If oil continues its upward trend, this could be the one catalyst that begins to put the brakes on this multi-month bull market run we have witnessed. The payroll tax cut extension will help off-set rising gas prices but I don’t think anyone wants to see oil prices climb higher or gas prices at $5.00 or $6.00 a gallon.

Everyone from economists to technicians have been proclaiming that the market is due to pause, that it’s overbought and needs a retracement. Well if oil trades above the $120 mark in the near future, we may just get what the pundits are predicting.

Have a good weekend 🙂

~George