It was a rollercoaster session that saw stocks initially swoon to a disappointing jobs report that missed Wall Street consensus by a mile so we couldn’t even rationalize let alone celebrate mediocrity. But as the session moved along, stocks found some footing as investors sought blue chip comfort and helped the Dow Jones Industrial Average hold above its 50-day moving average.
Perhaps, the mood changed with the realization that even slightly better wage growth isn’t enough to spring the Fed into action next month, and now there’s scuttlebutt that we might cruise through the year without any rate hikes. The NASDAQ avoided another down session, but that was misleading as the composite still sports ugly internals.
Market breadth underscored the cautious nature of the session. There were 100 more new highs than lows on the NYSE, but 184% more new lows than new highs on NASDAQ.
Breadth |
NYSE |
NASD |
New Highs |
136 |
31 |
New Lows |
36 |
88 |
Advancers |
62% |
53% |
Decliners |
37% |
44% |
Late in the session, we learned that consumer credit surged by $29.7 billion, or 10%, which was the fastest pace since November 2001. This time it was driven by credit card use, which was up 14%, or the fastest pace since July 2000.
Some may point to this as a sign the wealth effect is kicking.
Some may point to this as a sign people are using any means to make it day to day.
Those that see the worst in anything, and hate easy money, will say this is a bubble; although, the American public holds $100 billion less in credit card debt than they did back in December 2008 ($1.04 trillion).
The market set to pick up on Friday’s late spurt, but there’s a tentative feeling in the air. Although, buyers have been cooling their heels long enough to jump into the fray if there’s a sense a tradable move is occurring.
On the upside, a close above Dow 18,100 is key resistance and 17,500 a must hold support point.