From the Trading Desk

Bad Economic Data does not Deter Stocks from Moving Higher

Pathetic growth from the second quarter did very little to hurt stock gains. GDP growth was quite anemic disappointing economists who were expecting growth to top out at 1.7%. Initial claims were better than expected, but the lack of growth in the US economy continues to be a major hurdle for the US economy. Just about every estimate out there requires the economy to grow and at the moment growth is too low to help. Despite the pathetic growth stocks were able to bolt higher after hitting extreme oversold conditions yesterday. Volume was lower across the board, but the NASDAQ was just slightly lower. NYSE volume dropped significantly as the early week decline has spooked the bulls. Thursday’s market was certainly a favorable day for those who remain long this market.

We had some bullish action from leading stocks supporting today’s rally. One stock in particular the grandfather of growth: AAPL. The stock has been the one leader from the 2009 low that has yet to have any large hiccups. Today the stock staged an outside reversal as the stock stumbled out of the gate. Volume jumped showing institutions were there at the 50 day moving average. There are other examples, but AAPL is an important piece to the puzzle for the market. Keep an eye on how leadership reacts going forward as they will be the stocks giving you a clue where the market is heading.

There are a few traders out there calling this most recent rally a window dressing for the month end. It may very well be we have those pushing the market higher for window dressing. However, there are too many similarities between the market action after QE2 and QE3. On November 4th, 2010 the Federal Reserve announced its second round of bond buying. While the market rallied initially sellers took to the market to what ended up being a shake out. This current market action looks awful a lot like the action after QE2. Price is the ultimate decider, but the similarities are tough to ignore.

Enjoy the final day of trading of the 3rd quarter and the month of September. Enjoy the upcoming weekend and cut those losses short.

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