US STOCKS: Late Equities Roundup: New Two Month Highs
May-16 18:39
- So much for earlier cautionary profit taking ahead of the weekend - stocks have rebounded to the highest levels since early March in late Friday trade. Currently, the DJIA trades up 286.71 points (0.68%) at 42608.61, S&P E-Minis up 33.25 points (0.56%) at 5966.75, the Nasdaq up 67.5 points (0.4%) at 19179.75.
- In the first half - investors appeared unwilling to extend the week's equity rally after massive investment pledges from United Arab Emirates, not to mention the sweeping 90-day US/China tariff reductions stemming from negotiations in Switzerland last weekend.
- Health Care and Utility sectors continued to outperform in late trade, pharmaceutical and services related stocks buoyed the former with Moderna +7.23%, Humana +4.11%, Cigna Group +3.39%. Special mention for UnitedHealth Group up 5.00% after falling over 16% Wednesday after the WSJ reported UNH was under investigation for Medicare fraud.
- Leading gainers in the Utility sector included: PG&E +3.26%, Vistra +2.18%, Consolidated Edison +1.77% and NRG Energy +1.52%.
- Conversely, Energy and Information Technology sectors continued to underperform late Friday, profit taking after a week of strong performance in Tech stocks has Applied Materials -5.77%, First Solar -4.28%, KLA -2.08% and Cisco Systems -1.87%.
- Meanwhile oil and gas shares weaker despite a rise in crude prices (WTI +.90 at 62.52): Marathon Petroleum -0.94%, APA -0.82%, Diamondback Energy -0.73% and Occidental Petroleum -0.67%
Want to read more?
Find more articles and bullets on these widgets:
Historical bullets
USDJPY TECHS: Southbound
Apr-16 18:30
- RES 4: 151.30 High Mar 3
- RES 3: 149.10/151.21 50-day EMA / High Mar 28 and reversal trigger
- RES 2: 146.95 20-day EMA
- RES 1: 144.64/146.54 High Apr 11 / Low Mar 11 recent breakout point
- PRICE: 142.50 @ 15:59 BST Apr 16
- SUP 1: 142.05 Low Apr 16 and bear trigger
- SUP 2: 141.65 Low Sep 30 ‘24
- SUP 3: 141.00 1.236 proj of the Feb 12 - Mar 11 - 28 price swing
- SUP 4: 140.32 Low Sep 17 ‘24
The trend condition in USDJPY remains bearish and the pair is trading at its recent lows. Recent weakness confirms a resumption of the downtrend and maintains the price sequence of lower lows and lower highs. Note too that moving average studies are in a bear-mode position highlighting a dominant downtrend. Sights are on 141.65 next, the Sep 30 ‘24 low. Initial firm resistance to watch is the 20-day EMA, at 146.95.
US TSYS: Chairman Powell Concludes Economics Club of Chicago Speech
Apr-16 18:29
- Treasuries have scaled back from recent session highs as Chairman Powell has concluded his speech at the Economics Club of Chicago event.
- Tsy Jun'25 10Y trades +8.5 at 111-11 vs. 111-13.5 high, yield 4.2903% -.0427. Curves steeper but off highs: 2s10s +1.179 at 49.569.
- Stocks are still broadly weaker - but off lows at the moment, SPX eminis at 5311.0 (-116.75) Energy sector shares outperforming with crude higher (WTI +.88 at 62.21).
STIR: Dec'25 SOFR Volatility Seller
Apr-16 18:21
- -3,000 SFRZ5 96.56 straddles, 70.0 ref 96.55
