Although the Dow was off slightly today, the four major indices had a very solid week of gains. For the week, the Dow (chart) closed up 1.61%, the Nasdaq (chart) up 2.47%, the S&P 500 (chart) up 2.19% and the Russell 2000 (chart) finished the week up 1.57%. For the most part, tech earnings have exceeded expectations powering the Nasdaq higher by almost 10% just in the last month or so. Also yesterday, the markets got a boost from the E.U. which reached a deal to resolve the Greek debt crisis. All in all a very positive week for equites.

A look ahead to next week and there is certainly no shortage of economic news and corporate earnings reports from the likes of Texas Instruments (NYSE: TXN), Netflix (NasdaqGS: NFLX), Ford (NYSE: F) and United Parcel Service (NYSE: UPS) just to name a few. As always proceed with caution during earnings reporting season for there is usually an increase in volatility and earnings surprises that co-exist during this period.

Have a great weekend 🙂

~George

Talk about a blowout quarter! Apple (NasdaqGS: AAPL) absolutely tore the cover off the ball. The company reported an all time record quarter with over $28 billion in revenue, earning a whopping $7.79 per share. On average the street was expecting revenue of $25 billion and a $5.85 e.p.s. Shares at one point surged to over $400 dollars in after hours trading. What can you say other than this is just a remarkable growth story and a company that continues to be the innovative leader in tech. This likely will help fuel today’s powerful rally which came on the heals of strong numbers out of IBM and chatter out of Washington of a potential deal on the debt ceiling issue.

On the day the Dow (chart) finished up over 200 points, the Nasdaq (chart) up 60+, the S&P 500 (chart) +21 and the small cap Russell 2000 (chart) finished up 18.65. Earnings reporting season seemingly always creates upside and downside surprises, and so far the tech titans have over delivered.

Have a good evening.

~George

International Business Machines (NYSE: IBM) reported their 2Q earnings after the close and boy did they deliver. Revenue came in $1 billion more than expected, is that a typo? No it isn’t, in fact they also raised their guidance for the year to at least $13.25 per share from a prior projection of $13.15 per share. Now that’s the top line growth that I have been looking for and a much welcomed sight. Just like Google (NasdaqGS: GOOG) last week, hopefully this stellar report can calm the markets most recent fears.

Powerhouse Apple Inc. (NasdaqGS: AAPL) reports tomorrow and I am certainly very interested in what they report, and more importantly what their future outlook is.

Good luck to all.

~George

Despite Google’s blowout quarter and a green day for stocks on Friday, all of the major indexes closed down sharply for the week. In fact in was one of the steepest weekly declines in almost a year. For the week the Dow (chart) finished down 1.4%, the Nasdaq (chart) -2.45%, the S&P 500 (chart) -2.06% and the Russell 2000 (chart) fell almost 3%. Right now it appears earnings reporting season is being overshadowed by the governments inability to reach a deal on the debt ceiling increase as the deadline is closing in. Call it what you will but the political jockeying must come to an end or we could indeed be in for a very turbulent market environment.

There is too much uncertainty for me to have any confidence in taking on any new risk. Couple this with earnings reporting season kicking into high gear next week and you can almost count on much higher volatility in the markets.

Have a good weekend 🙂

~George

After a week of selling pressure in the markets, finally some good news from tech titan Google (NasdaqGS: GOOG). Google’s shares are surging 10% in the after hours session after reporting a blow-out quarter, earning $8.74 per share. That is almost a $1.00 per share above what analysts were expecting. Hopefully this can be a catalyst to help the tech sector and the overall markets which has sold off sharply over the past several days.

Next week other tech titans such as IBM, Apple and Intel are set to report, so let’ s see if these bellwethers can demonstrate the strength in earnings power as Google just did.

Have a good evening.

~George

With earnings reporting season about ready to kick off in full force, what does an investor or trader do? With the way the markets have rebounded from the May/June correction, the bulls can feel pretty confident about going long this market. However, the bears could argue that all you have to do is look at Friday’s anemic jobs report and all is clear to begin shorting this market. No matter what side of the market you’re on, it is always very risky to place bets before earnings reporting season or before a given company reports their quarterly results.

What I have learned over the years is that it is best to sit on the sidelines and wait to get a clear picture of not only what corporate America has earned, but even more importantly, what their future outlook is.  With the inherent volatility that comes with quarterly results, and by sitting on the sidelines, it is probable you will miss out on a big move either direction.  However, historically speaking, once the direction has been identified post earnings, there is usually a follow through in the same direction that one could capitalize on while also reducing the risk of being on the wrong side of the trade. Of course before you do anything, always make sure to conduct proper due diligence and consult with a professional investment advisor.

All the best.

~George

Investors and stocks got a reminder today that we are not quite out of the woods yet. U.S. employers added only 18,000 jobs in June, well below the 90,000 payrolls the street was expecting and the unemployment rate also climbed to 9.2%. Stocks ended lower across the board with the Dow (chart), Nasdaq (chart), S&P 500 (chart) and the Russell 2000 (chart) all finishing down, although rebounding noticeably off their intraday lows. I think the late-day bounce is due to the anticipation of earnings reporting season which kicks off in earnest next week.

Aluminum producer Alcoa (NYSE: AA) reports their quarterly results on Monday and should  provide a snapshot regarding the overall health of the global economy, followed by JP Morgan Chase (NYSE: JPM) and Google (NasdaqGS: GOOG) later in the week. These companies should set the tone for the much anticipated second quarter earnings reporting season, which I also expect to be quite volatile. Good luck to all.

Have a great weekend 🙂

~George

On this Fourth of July weekend there will be plenty of fireworks displays across the country, however the markets did not want to wait until the Fourth to celebrate. Stocks put on their own fireworks display on the first trading day of the month. The major indices jumped more than 1% on Friday as they continued to rebound sharply from the May/June correction. The Dow (chart) rose more than 168 points, the Nasdaq (chart)gained 42 points, the S&P 500 (chart) advanced 19 points and the Russell 2000 (chart) finished up over 12 points.

A stronger than expected U.S. manufacturing report helped cap last week’s powerful market rally. Next week investors will be met with key economic data including factory orders, jobless claims and the all important June jobs report. The second week of July earnings reporting season kicks off in earnest which will really be the determining factor as to whether or not this market rally continues.

Have a safe and Happy 4th of July 🙂

~George