Nasdaq closed 1,476.42 for the week ended 30th Jan 09, down 0.89 points or 0.06% from previous week.
S&P500 closed 825.88 for the week ended 30th Jan 09, down 6.07 points or 0.73% from previous week.
Crude oil price finished the week at US$41.75/barrel as compared with previous week of US$45.98/barrel.
US markets rallied in the first part of the week for the House of Representative to approve of Obama's stimulus and couple of better than expected corporate earnings but submit to selling pressure in the later part of the week due to poor economic data, corporate job cuts and profit taking. US Federal Reserve on 28th Jan 09 maintained its Fed fund rate at between 0% to 0.25% and vowed to use all avaliable tools to help the ailing US economy. US also announced its 4Q08 GDP on last Friday showing a contraction of 3.8% for 4Q and 2008 GDP to be down to 1.3%. Though the contraction was better than the expected -5.4% but investors are concerned on how deep the recession will go.
A recap of last week US economic data/event is as followed.
- 26th Jan 09, Existing Home Sales reported 4.740M, consensus 4.400M, previous value 4.490M.
- 27th Jan 09, Consumer Confidence came in 37.7, market expecting 39.0, previous value 38.0.
- 28th Jan 09, FOMC announcement maintained interest rate at between 0% to 0.25% meeting consensus.
- 29th Jan 09, Durable Goods Orders reported -2.6%, consensus -2.0%, previous value -1.0%.
- 29th Jan 09, Jobless Claims came in 588K, expecting 575K, previous value 589K.
- 29th Jan 09, New Home Sales reported 331K, consensus 400K, previous value 407K.
- 30th Jan 09, GDP reported -3.8%, market expecting -5.4%, previous -0.5%.
- 30th Jan 09, Employment Cost came in 0.5%, consensus 0.7%, previous value 0.7%.
- 30th Jan 09, Consumer Sentiment reported 61.2, consensus 61.9, previous value 61.9.
- 2nd Feb 09, Motor Vehicle Sales, Personal Income/Outlays, ISM Mfg Index, Construction Spending
- 3rd Feb 09, Pending Home Sales
- 4th Feb 09, ISM Non-Mfg Index
- 5th Feb 09, BOE and ECB Announcement, Jobless Claims, Productivity and Costs, Factory Orders
- 6th Feb 09, Employment Situation, Consumer Credit
Nasdaq long term trend is sideway while short-term bias towards the downside. This is suggested by the DI pair being negatively spaced and Stochastic signal is cutting down. The downside momentum might not be strong as RSI still holding around the 40% level and ADX signal is around the 20 level. Nasdaq has been moving in range between 1,440 to 1,550 for weeks. A breakdown at 1,440 could see it re-tests the 1,320 level and a breakout from 1,550 could see it testing 1,620 level.
S&P500 long term trend is still sideway while short-term is bias towards the downside. DI pair negatively spaced and Stochastic signal cutting down indicating the short-term downside. The downside could be lacking in strong momentum as ADX signal did not rise towards 40 level and RSI is flattish around the 40% level. For past weeks, S&P500 is moving between the range 800 to 870. A breakdown from 800 would see it re-tests 750 while breaking out from 870 would see it rises to possible re-test 930 level.
For the coming week it will be another eventful week for US markets. Early part of the week, market should be looking at the outcome of the Obama's stimulus bill when it is brought to the US Senate level for approval. Later part of the week markets should be focusing on the US Employment Situation to see how bad the recession will be hitting US when so many companies have announced job cut for past months. Furthermore, Obama and his administration will be announcing detail of how the money going to spend to save the ailing US economy. US markets might subject to volatile sessions with these events dictating the direction of the markets for the coming week.
