STOCK INDEXES END HIGHER AFTER HOLDING CHART SUPPORT -- DOW LEADERS ARE BOEING, INTEL, AND MICROSOFT -- RETAILERS LEAD S&P 500 HIGHER -- NASDAQ 100 IS DAY'S STRONGEST INDEX -- NETFLIX HITS NEW RECORD
DOW BOUNCES OFF SHORT-TERM CHART SUPPORT... An early morning pullback for the Dow found support along the lows of last week before ending the day higher. That was the same story for the other major stock indexes. The black line in Chart 1 shows the Dow Industrials staying above that initial line of support. And that helped keep the May uptrend intact. Three of its biggest gainers were Boeing, Intel, and Microsoft. Chart 2 shows Boeing (BA) holding "gap support" formed on Monday before ending higher. That's a good chart sign. Chart 3 shows Intel (INTC) nearing a new record high. While Chart 4 shows Microsoft (MSFT) ending the day at a new record high. The gains in those last two stocks reflected a strong day in technology stocks.
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Chart 1
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Chart 2
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Chart 3
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Chart 4
RETAILERS LEAD S&P 500 HIGHER ... Chart 5 shows the S&P 500 bouncing off short-term chart support in more decisive fashion. The SPX has been trading sideways over the past week while consolidating its May gains. Today's upside reversal was a good sign. The SPX was led higher by big gains in a number of retailers like Tiffany (23%), Polo Ralph Lauren (14%), and Lowes (10%). Chart 6 shows the S&P Retail SPDR (XRT) holding above its recent breakout point to maintain its May uptrend. That also made consumer cyclicals one of the day's strongest sectors.
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Chart 5
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Chart 6
NASDAQ 100 LEADS MARKET HIGHER -- NETFLIX HITS NEW RECORD ... The PowerShares Nasdaq 100 (QQQ) led the market higher. The last price bar in Chart 7 shows the QQQ rebounding impressively off chart support along the 167 level which was the intra-day peak formed in mid-April. Today's gain of +0.84% made it the day's strongest stock index. One of its top gainers was Netflix (NFLX). Chart 8 show that stock hitting a new record high today. Some of this afternoon's stock gains were attributed to dovish comments from Fed minutes which suggested that it wouldn't react too aggressively to higher inflation numbers. That caused the 10-year Treasury yield to drop 6 basis points to 3.00%. That helped make utilities the day's strongest sector and financials the weakest. Despite an afternoon pullback, the U.S. Dollar Index ended at another six month high. The rising dollar has caused foreign stocks to lag behind the U.S. stock rally. Especially emerging markets.
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Chart 7
