Reuters
- "The number of Americans filing new claims for jobless benefits hit a 3-1/2
year low last week, bolstering views that the economy was gaining momentum, even
though third-quarter growth was revised down.
Other
data on Thursday underscored the firming tone in the economy, with consumer
sentiment scaling a six-month high in December and a barometer of future
activity rising for a seventh straight month in November." – Full story at:
The Telegraph (London) – “Even as much of the rest of the
world is slowing down and a mild recession is forecast in Europe next year, the
US economy has remained resilient.
The jobs market is improving, households continue to
spend, home building is picking up and factory output is expanding, putting the
economy on course for at least a 3pc growth pace in the fourth quarter." – Full
story at:
In
Europe the ECB’s lending to banks has been well received with a lot of bank
participation. That seems to be leading
to some good stock market action in European stocks - the Stoxx Euro 600 was up about 1% today. I am not endorsing buying Europe, but it does
show some confidence over there and that will be bullish for the US market too.
The
S&P 500 ended up about 0.8% today to 1254 with volume on the NYSE about 15%
below the average for the month. VIX was
down another 1% to 21.2.
The
NTSM analysis is BUY today.
I
bought back into the stock market at S&P 500, 1155 on 7 Oct after the 6 Oct
NTSM buy signal. I remain 100% long in
the long term portfolio (100% stocks in the 401k.). (See the page “How to Use
the NTSM System” – the link is on the right side of this page).
I
am 90% long in the trading portfolio…and still cautiously optimistic.
Just a reminder: 100%
invested in stocks is way too much for most rational folks. Don’t do it unless you have a high tolerance
for risk.
