ETF/No Load Fund Tracker StatSheet
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THE LINK TO OUR CURRENT ETF/MUTUAL FUND STATSHEET IS:
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Market Commentary
Friday, February 22, 2013
US STOCKS RALLY ON GERMAN DATA, EARNINGS; EUROPE SURGES
US stocks fought back from the worst slump since November as a measure of German business confidence jumped to a 10-month high, eclipsing concerns that the US Federal Reserve will scale back its asset purchase program, as earnings from American International Group Inc and Hewlett-Packard Co topped street estimates.
Wall Street found early support after suffering its worst two-drop since early November after the IFO survey of German business executives showed sentiment in February jumped to its highest reading since April.
Hewlett-Packard was the biggest gainer in the S&P 500 Friday, vaulting 12 percent after the largest PC maker forecast second quarter earnings that exceeded analysts’ expectations.
AIG Group rose 3.1 percent after fourth-quarter results beat analysts’ estimates.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) zoomed 120 points to finish at 14,001, leaving it up 0.1 percent for the week.
The S&P 500 Index (SPX) rose 13 points to 1,516 with materials, financials and technology leading the gains. All the 10 business groups within the benchmark index ended higher for the day. SPX shed 0.3 percent for the week, its first weekly decline of the year.
Treasury prices rose for a third day, pushing yields on 10-year notes to near one-week low on Friday ahead of Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke’s scheduled testimony before the Senate Banking Committee next week. Bernanke’s testimony will be important as the last FOMC minutes showed many Fed officials were worried about the risks linked to the $85 billion-a-month bond purchase program.
Meanwhile, the euro continued to weaken against the US dollar Friday, extending the currency’s losses against its US counterpart, after the European Central Bank said commercial banks would payback early less than half of the expected chunk of cheap three-year loans.
European stocks advanced, wrapping up its first weekly gain in four weeks on Friday after a surprisingly strong German reading on the country’s business climate spurred risk appetite, outweighing worries about Italian elections over the weekend.
On a downbeat note, the European Commission cut the currency bloc’s growth forecast for 2013. The eurozone’s economy is expected to shrink 0.3 percent this year as a return to growth seemed to be more gradual than expected.
Our Trend Tracking Indexes (TTIs) ended up only slightly changed from last week’s close:
Domestic TTI: +2.84% (last week +3.01%)
International TTI: +9.31% (last week +10.51%)
And, if you’re still not clear what Quantitative Easing (QE) is all about, or the Fed’s monthly $85 billion bond purchase program for that matter, take a look at this video (hat tip to Zero Hedge):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=XrJHzbl7ay0
Have a great week.
Ulli…
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READER Q & A FOR THE WEEK
All Reader Q & A’s are listed at our web site!
Check it out at:
http://www.successful-investment.com/q&a.php
A note from reader Semserus:
Q: Ulli: Glad to See You around…!
YOU wrote: “exit our positions whenever our trailing sell stops give us the sign to do so.”
I have a question:
Please give Me YOUR definition of Said EXIT … Is it Like 5% down or 7% … or???
A: Semserus: I use the following trailing sell stop points:
1. Bond Funds/ETFs: 5%
2. Broadly diversified Domestic/International funds/ETFs: 7%
3. Country/Sector ETFs: 10%
Hope that helps.
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Do you have the time to follow our investment plans yourself? If you are a busy professional who would like to have his portfolio managed using our methodology, please contact me directly or get more details at:
https://theetfbully.com/personal-investment-management/
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Contact Ulli