THE CLOSE

Markets closed near the highs of the day led by believe or not the energy sector with the OIH closing up 2.7% to $215 and DIG up 5.4% to $122.5. Gold also soared closing up 22 to over $900.

Other strong sectors included steel, ags, emerging markets and utils while banks, brokers, retail and reits lagged.

NYSE/NAZ internals flattish;

NDX- 40 GREEN;

OEX-40 GREEN;

IBD- 75 GREEN;

VIX- flattish at 16.5;

Up and down volume about equal with higher overall volume due to expiration;

Monday probably brings higher prices as folks start to believe the market is finally doing well after being up about 170 SPX points from the bottom.

The DJIA seems to have a bit of a problem breaking through the 13k area as there always seems to be another blow up among the 30- ( C GE MRK etc).

MIDDAY PEAK

Markets are lower but off their worst levels of the day. Leading sectors are metals, steel, ags, oils and utils while banks, retail, gaming and brokers are lagging.

NYSE- 340 net losers;

NAZ- 740 net losers;

NDX-30 GREEN;

OEX-30 GREEN;

IBD-60 GREEN;

VIX- higher by 6% at 17.25;

Down volume 150% of up volume;

TRIN- 1.18;

Crude - under 126;

GOLD- 898;

Not looking for much more action this afternoon as markets probably hover near these levels. Looking to buy dips in the drillers as that has been a winning strategy for some time and I doubt it stops any time soon.

MORNING SHOUT

Markets are trading lower on the heels of higher crude etal. The DJIA -21, NAZ -16 and SPX -2.5.

Strongest sectors include metals, oils, steel, ags, utils and telecom while banks, retail, internets and gaming lag.

Key stocks -14/40 higher led by CELG BG XOM ISRG and CME while TIF ICE MGM KLAC PM are all lower.

NYSE- 350 net losers;

NAZ- 650 net losers;

NDX- 25 GREEN;

OEX-35 GREEN;

IBD-65 GREEN;

VIX- higher by almost 5% to a hair over 17;

Down volume about 1.5X the up;

TRIN- 1.14;

A little busy this AM with some short term trading as I have picked up the pace of late. Probably a range bound day for the general markets with oil staying at/near $127- those in that sector should do pretty well. Also note GOLD over $900.

Pre Markets

Futures are trading flat in the pre market but the real story is in commodities where Gold is up about $15 on the heels of $900 at $894 and Crude up $2.6 at/near all time highs at the $127 level.

Not sure how long equity markets can stay at these lofty levels if crude continues on the current path. It was just a few days ago where the market and crude were going in the exact opposite direction on every tick and that relationship may reappear quickly.

Gapping up- AMLN CELG RIMM CLR MPWR ARD DRYS RIG SOHU ATI CPSL NED SUTR AAP UTSI BMC CHIP AZN DNA

Gapping down- ORCL CNQR NEU VMI

RSI (2) levels:

SPX 95

DJIA 87

NAZ 98

NDX 94

RUT 94

MID 99

XLE 72

XLF 80

MSH 98

SMH 99

HHH 98

Linking:

VIX+MORE on why Volatility may have bottomed;

Mike with his daily chart look;

The Quant on the low VIX;

The BUFFETT plate;

The Crude /Pump anomaly;

GS with a new rude forecast;

And how about GHANA;

THE CLOSE

Markets closed at/near the highs and we are back at the 1420 area on the SPX - The DJIA closed +94, NAZ +37 and SPX +15.

Strongest sectors included metals, steel, oil service, homies and gaming while utils defense and drugs lagged.

NYSE- 1280 net winners;

NAZ- 625 net winners;

NDX- 80 GREEN;

OEX- 75 GREEN;

IBD- 78 GREEN;

VIX- down 7.5% at 16.35 and another new low for the year- and 11% under the SMA 10;

Up volume 3.5X Down volume- TRIN .63;

SPX closed a hair below the SMA 200- and at/near the May 2 high- however RSI (2) levels at near 95 on most of the major indexes- loading the boat with the VIX this far stretched to the south and RSI (2) so far stretched to the north - not usually a good strategy. Intermediate term up but waiting for better prices to reboot the longs.

MORNING THOUGHT

Markets are trading near the flat line with the key word being resilience. The DJIA +7, NAZ +7.5 and the SPX +1.75.

Strong sectors include metals, steel, oil service, homies and semis while utils, real estate, financials and trannies lag.

Key stocks- 27/40 green led by TIF UA NVDA POT DE LVSY and NYX while CELG GS BAC MCD RIMM KLAC and C are red.

NYSE/NAZ flattish internals;

NDX- 65 GREEN;

OEX-50 GREEN;

IBD- 70 GREEN;

VIX- down 3% at/near 17- 7% under the SMA 10;

Up volume a bit better than down;

TRIN- .68;

Gold -881;

Crude- 125.5;

Looks like metals / commodities/tech are holding the markets up this morning with the financials lagging- just check GS XLF BKX etc- so another later day sell off would not be surprising as the financials start to drag the rest of the market lower later.

THE CLOSE

Markets closed up after giving up much of the days gains as sellers decided enough was enough as the DJIA closed +65 after being up 165, the SPX +5.5 after being up 17 and the NAZ +1.5 after hitting its head earlier at the SMA 200.

One explanation I read that looked pretty good was this from briefing- "we think the failure of the DOW & SP 500 to put in new afternoon highs made longs a bit skittish as momentum & volume dried up, causing some longs to abandon their positions."

Another reason, VIX over sold and at /near multi month lows, SPX rejected again at the May 6 highs at /near 1420 and the failure of the financials to participate - note WB WFC GS LEH all at/near the flat line to red most of the day.

Strongest sectors- homies, retail, telecom gaming and semis while oils, metals, ags and steel lagged.

NYSE- 600 net winners;

NAZ- flat;

NDX- 68 GREEN;

OEX-75 GREEN;

IBD-28 GREEN;

VIX- 17.65 down 2%;

Up volume 1.5X the down - overall light again at almost 1.2B shares traded;

TRIN- .83;

NQ futures continue to sell off after the close and a brief rest by the markets would not come as a surprise after the recent run. Wait for lower RSI (2) levels and a higher VIX to reinitiate longs. And congrats to those who took the morning advice and tightened up the stops.

MORNING REVIEW

Markets are way up on the heels of the better than expected dopey inflation data. Their gas prices are down- mine- not so far down. The DJIA +124, NAZ +26 and SPX +12.5.

Strongest sectors -semis, telecom, retail, trannies and steel while oils, ags, metals, utils and real estate lag.

NYSE- 1150 net winner;

NAZ 730 net winners;

NDX- 85 GREEN;

OEX- 85 GREEN;

IBD- 60 GREEN;

Key stocks- WINNERS- UA NVDA KLAC MGM MON SMH LVS DECK RIMM WYNN- LOSERS- CAT AMGN BG;

VIX- down 4% at 17.25- and trading 7% under the SMA 10;

Up volume 4X down;

RSI (2) levels on most major index now at/near 90's with the exception of the DJIA- Big resistance up above at the 1420/1430 levels on the SPX as it was prior resistance and coming to the SMA 200. So heads up if you have been long and strong.

PRE OPEN

Futures are trading down a bit this AM while crude is also down at $125.25 and gold down $7 at $863.

Gapping up- XRIT CRME FRE FLML ESLR HMIN UA JOBS DSX BHP SPLS OI CCU;

Gapping down- APP MBRK ASEI WFMI DE SOL CHDX GOLD ERTS NLY EXR;

VIX- trading about 5% below its SMA 10;

MID (+1.8%)- turns positive for the year while the RUT is not far behind as both leave the financial laden SPX/DJIA in the dust over the last few months. Note also how the NAZ/NDX, which were down almost 20% for the year less than two months ago are now down 6% and 4% respectively.

RSI (2) levels coming in to today's trade:

SPX- 65

DJIA -46

NAZ 87

NDX 85

RUT 93

MID 95

XLF 34

BKX 24

XLE 82

OIH 69

DFX 88

DRG 41

GLD 12

SLV 30

XRT 90

RLX 70

MSH 88

SOX 89

HHH 91

SMH 92

XLK 81

Some fun links:

Chafee on W;

BESPOKE on the UPTREND;

Barry on Positive Thinking;

The new SURGE;

DIG DUG and the P/C Ratio;

Dr. Brett with the Truth;

Adam on the VIX trades;

MIDDAY MARKETS

Markets hanging in pretty pretty well despite the rip in crude as the DJIA is -64 with 1/3 of the decline attributable to HPQ, NAZ -4 and SPX -2.4. The DJIA has had some lousy luck lately with components HPQ and AIG getting crushed on recent news.

Strongest sectors include Coal, oil, telecom, semis, oil service and steel while banks, metals, brokers, ags and homies lag.

NYSE- 200 net losers;

NAZ- 200 net losers;

NDX- 30 GREEN;

OEX- 40 GREEN;

IBD- 60 GREEN;

VIX- up 2% at 18.15;

Up and down volume almost even;

TRIN- .92 as more goes to winners;

Crude- new highs and now at $125.5;

Gold- $870;

EURO- $155;

Markets feel like they want to move higher and a move lower this afternoon in crude might be the catalyst. Financials trading ugly and a little boost there may also be in the cards.

Longs today in IBM WLT SMH NKE after being quickly in and out of NOV.

And I look so forward to the great insights of Dennis K. for the next 90 minutes. Wahoo.

MORNING DIP

Markets are trading lower with the DJIA lower by 35, NAZ -5 and SPX -3.

Strongest sectors include telecom, gaming, semis, drugs and trannies while metals, banks, biotech and oil services lag.

NYSE- 370 net losers;

NAZ- 400 net losers;

NDX- 30 GREEN;

OEX- 35 GREEN;

IBD- 40 GREEN;

VIX- higher by 2.4% at 18.2;

Up volume a bit less than Down;

TRIN- 1.0000;

Curious to see if the markets can bounce from the 1400 SPX level as crude as it the unchanged level. Bought some NOV and will look to reenter IBM.

PRE OPEN

Futures are trading lower on the heels of lower markets in Europe- while Crude is down 68 cents to $123.6 and gold down $7.4 to $877.5.

As I mentioned in my closing post yesterday, I sold lots of longs as the VIX hit the lowest number many months and I don't look at that as bullish. Check what VIX + More had to say about the VIX here.

The Quant on his take on the lowwwwwwwww volume;

Barry with more low volume tidbits;

The latest poll;

S & P with latest earnings numbers for 2008- PE 15+;

Mike with his charts and comments;

And Iraqi corruption?

THE RIP

Markets closed with nice gains as the DJIA was +131, NAZ +43 and the SPX +15. Not a bad signal from the TRIN- despite being south of the SMA 200.

Strongest sectors- retail, brokers, real estate, tech, banks and homies while oil, metals, ags and large cap growth lagged.

NYSE- 1350 net winners;

NAZ- 1045 net winners;

NDX- 80 WINNERS;

OEX-90 WINNERS;

IBD-65 WINNERS;

VIX- lower by 8% + to 17.8 and 7% below the SMA 10;

Up volume 3X down with total volume very light again at 1.04 B shares;

TRIN- .77;

Markets closed near the highs and are getting over bought again as the SPX closes over the 1400 level which has been minor resistance of late. Turnaround Tuesday tomorrow would not be surprising as I sold some longs at/near the close inlcuding DIG/IBM QLD at/near the close.

DIG will be back on the radar tomorrow as CRUDE is down $2 as I type- Gold at 883.

OPENING LOOK

After opening higher the markets are now trading near the flat line as financials are starting to sell down. The DJIA +5, NAZ +1 and SPX -2.

Strongest sectors- retail, drugs, banks, brokers, telecom and reits while oil sevice, gaming, metals, trannies and ags are lagging.

Key stocks- generally mixed with RIMM BIDU DECK MCD MSFT AMZN higher and VL LVS MGM NVDA POT KLAC lower.

NYSE- 230 net winners;

NAZ- 275 net winners;

NDX- 48 GREEN;

OEX- 50 GREEN;

IBD- 35 GREEN'

VIX- Flat;

TRIN- 1.19;

Up and down volume almost equal;

Markets not showing much this morning but I am buying some DIG here as its way down as oil is down whole 90 cents. Also trying to daytrade some IBM XLF and AMZN- as I think buyers will show up before the day is over.

TRINNING

Futures are trading higher this morning on the heels of higher foreign markets.

One buy signal that I follow hit on Friday and that was the TRIN - it has closed above 1.0 three days in a row and that is generally a hint of an over sold market. Trading markets tested it out and came up with this trade:

1) The TRIN closes over 1.0 for three consecutive days;

2) On the third day buy the market on close;

3) Exit when the SPX closes above above its 5 day SMA;

4) The SPX is above its 200 SMA;

Yeah, the fly in the ointment, we are below the SMA 200 although above the 50 and we appear to be in a short term up trend. I think its worth a shot and note the SMA 5 at/near 1397.

Other indicators not quite giving by signals with the VIX at/near the SMA 10 and RSI (2) levels at near 20.

A bunch of other good Trading Markets articles on trading here.

Gold 883;

Crude- 125.25;

EURO -1.545;