NASDAQ struggles to keep up.

Stocks are up this morning after retail sales reported this morning showed biggest gain since March. The NASDAQ struggles to keep up with the Dow Jones and S&P500 in the opening hour. This is attributed to the fact that RBC cut Microsoft's (MSFT) price target as well as downgraded Oracle (ORCL) to sector perform rather than outperorm.

Blue moon good news

Jobless claims reported a fall this morning as they dropped to 395,000 when they were expected to stay around 400,000. This is seemingly the first bit of positive economic news we've had in awhile and should spurt a nice rally in the opening of the market. With volatility and investor's concern at the highest we've seen it in years, today will likely be another very unpredictable trading day. Gold has slightly fallen off its highs but is still trading at higher than it ever has recently at $1,775.

Gold Shines

Not everything is suffering today. Gold shot up 4% to rise above $1,700 for the first time. Gold ETF, GLD, rose more than 3% as of 2:45.

Will it ever stop?

Stocks plummeted in the opening hour of trading today after S&P announced that they were downgraded US credit ratings on Friday. This could not have come at a worse time and greatly increased worry among investors as well as chances of suffering a double dip recession. Stocks have been on a free fall over the past 2 weeks and show no sight of letting up. Gold, on the other hand, continues to rise and inches towards $1,700 levels, while oil inches towards $80 levels. In times like these all we can do is wait. If you're already in stocks and you can afford to hold, then hold. Do not sell if you don't have to! If you're some of the lucky few that are not suffering from these losses and are currently out of the market, I would continue to watch and keep track of what's going on. Look for an indication in a change of trends of confidence. Then jump back in.

Deal Reached!

A deal has officially been reached to cut at least $2.4 trillion over 10 years. Look for markets to sky rocket tomorrow on the relief that this is finally over. Economic distress isn't over though. Many companies are still releasing earnings and investors are still hoping to avoid US credit rating downgrades. All-in-all this is good news, but it does NOT signal an improving economy. Investors should continue to invest with caution. I predict the coming week to be VERY volatile. That being said, I will begin investing again tomorrow morning.

More Delays!

More delays have hit the debt plan as the House decides not to vote tonight as originally planned. US House Republicans will meet Friday morning at 10 AM. The futures are off and are pointing to a sharp decline in opening hours. It'll be interesting to see if anything is worked out or announced early in the morning. Chevron releases its earnings tomorrow, but I doubt it will be enough to sway the market one way or another.

Market Goes Green... For Now

The market is holding strong in the green so far today with NASDAQ leading the pack and rising 0.93%. The Dow Jones was up a modest 0.3% and S&P500 was up about 0.54% as of 2:00 PM today. Investors are still patiently waiting on the outcome of this afternoon's vote. Dunkin' Brands continues to rise during the early afternoon as it is trading at $29.00, up 4%. It'll be interesting to see how far this stock will go, but I can't picture it rising any higher. I believe it's bound to fall back down to low $20's by as early as next week. I would continue to hold off on any more purchasing for the day, beacuse even though stocks are green, the vote this afternoon could swing this market before our eyes.

Pre-Market Update - Thursday 7/28/11

The market looks to open with a slight rebound with jobless claims finally dipping back below 400,000. On the other hand, Credit Suisse and Exxon Mobil both released poor earnings. Investors will wait on the House of Representatives to vote before any real rally or free fall will happen today. I will do the same and not buy anything until the House's decision is released.

John Boehner's revised plan

U.S. House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner's office announced that the plan to increase spending cuts has been revised to deliver $917 billion over the next 10 years which would raise the debt ceiling by up to $900 billion. After the recent fall in the markets because of the looming debt fear, it's nice to see some action going on in this area. Boehner's wants The House to vote on Thursday, but I think it's very unlikely to be passed right away. I think if anything gets passed in the next week it won't be until right before the deadline of August 2. That being said, many investors have been moving their money out of stocks these past few days, despite a very good first few weeks of reported earnings. Many of these people are likely in cash right now and waiting to see what happens with the debt ceiling deal. I think we could have a little more of a pullback, followed by a period of flat markets until a deal is made. If and when a deal is made, look for a larger rally then expected as investors not only buy on less debt fears, but also on the dip that that this default scare has created, as well as continued strong earnings.  

Dunkin' Brands IPO

Dunkin' Brands began its first day of public trading today at $19. In mid-day trading DNKN reach a high of $29 and ended up closing just below $28, up about 47%.
Dunkin' Brands was founded in 1950 and contains popular subsidiaries such as Dunkin' Donuts and Baskin-Robbins.I would hold off on making any purchases anytime soon because it's unlikely the inital IPO rally will continue much longer.