After taking a beating last week, equity markets appear to be holding at key technical support levels at the start of this week. More specifically, watch for the S&P 500 Index as it fluctuates around the 1,300 mark; a break below this level could accelerate selling pressures and sink the benchmark to to anywhere from 1,275 to 1,250. The coming week has a number of important economic data reports on the home front that can potentially inspire a bull stampede, although Euro zone headlines can certainly take precedence without notice [see also 3 ETF Trading Tips You Are Missing].
Today saw markets turn south as investors continue to lose confidence in general markets. The biggest story on the day was the relatively lackluster performance from Facebook (FB), as the social networking giant made its IPO. While a number of tech IPOs over the last few months have opened with stellar gains, FB finished the [...]
Stocks started off the week on the wrong foot yesterday, as more euro worries forced major benchmarks to stumble out of the gate. The first quarter of the year was generally positive, but that momentum has shifted for the worse in recent weeks as investors and analysts have begun to worry about our economic future [...]
Stock markets headed south last week as uncertainty over the political situation in Greece led many investors to question the health of the fragile currency bloc as a whole. Amidst the flurry of volatile trading on Wall Street, profit taking pressures also spread to commodities; futures prices for gold and oil both traded lower, settling [...]
In recent years, gold has become arguably the most popular commodity from an investing perspective, and with good reason. Gold and the funds that track it have provided some massive returns for traders and investors all around the globe. But that popularity got especially heated in 2010 and the first half of 2011, as gold [...]
Stocks bounced all over the place yesterday as dismal housing data kept a lid on optimism. Major equity indexes managed to hold onto modest gains as the closing bell rang, except for the Nasdaq; shares of Apple shed another 2% on the day as pre-earnings jitters dragged down the entire tech sector [see also High-Tech [...]
With equity markets charging (generally) higher since the start of 2012, it’s no wonder that gold has been largely off the radar for many investors. Despite evading news headlines over the past few months, speculation over where the precious yellow metal is headed has not died down one bit. Given the impressive bull-run on Wall [...]
As interest in gold as an investable asset has increased in recent years, more and more investors looking to gain exposure to the precious metal are turning to exchange-traded products. U.S.-listed gold ETPs now have assets in excess of $80 billion, representing a material portion of the total industry. Gold ETPs have generally performed very [...]
Stocks finished the day off relatively flat as the S&P 500 posted its worst week of the year, granted markets are closed tomorrow in observance of Good Friday. After shying away for several weeks, European fears heated up again on the day as investors worry over the mounting debts and solvency of varying regions of [...]
Equity indexes on Wall Street oscillated between gains and losses throughout the majority of the trading week as slightly disappointing economic data releases were enough to encourage broad-based profit taking. Investors were displeased with a slow down in durable goods orders, although better-than-expected consumer sentiment on Friday helped to restore confidence. This week will see a host [...]
As we enter Q2, investors will be looking back to one of the best three-month stretches in recent history, as stocks surged amid a rally that has defined 2012. Both the Dow and S&P 500 have crossed pivotal points as they have hit post-recession highs and set their sights on a full recovery. But the [...]
