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The market was pretty flat all day. Financials and techs took a breather, while commodity-related sectors bounced. Metals, energy, oil, and agriculture were all strong today. MOS led the fertilizer group, rising almost $12, or +9.38%; POT added +6.52%, and AGU gained +6.56%. In the energy sectors: HES went up +6.26; CLR rebounded +5.04%; SLB kept its winning streak after its earnings report, adding +5.5%; FLR advanced +5.16%. Coals were also hot: MEE +11.64%; BTU +8%; CNX +8.36%, PCX +10.98%.

The technology stocks held on well before AAPL’s earnings report. But, after the market, AAPL shares dropped almost 10%!! Although its quarterly report was strong, its outlook did not impress the investors. TXN missed its earnings estimates and the guidance was below consensus. TXN shares fell more than 11% in AH trading. AXP’s quarterly earnings were also worse than expected. AXP shares tumbled 11.37% after the report.

The Dow lost 29.23 points; SPX slid 0.68 points; Nasdaq slipped 3.25 points:

VIX closed just above 23. BTK (biotechs) was strong on DNA’s buyout news. XME added +5.15%. GLD (gold) was up +1.01% while SLV (silver) gained +1.45%. USO (oil) bounced +2.14% and XLE (energy) garnered +2.99%. OIH (oil services) hopped almost +4%. MOO (agriculture) rose +3.84%. FXI (Chinese ADRs) advanced +1.07%.

SPX

SPX slid 0.68 points to close at 1260. It closed just below its 20-day MA. The MACD went higher.

Nasdaq

Nasdaq lost 3.25 points to close at 2279.53. It also closed below its 20-day MA. Its MACD was also higher.

Although the market held things up pretty well today, some big earning misses in after-hours will likely put pressure on the market tomorrow. AAPL, TXN, AXP all went lower after their quarterly reports. For Nasdaq, its 10-day MA had already been rising and is very close to its 20-day MA. So, just a slight drop will push it under its 10-day MA (currently at around 2261). SPX’s 10-day MA is at around 1247. We’ll be watching to see how well the 10-day MAs hold up. VIX will likely bounce tomorrow. Rising above 25 will give it more room to go, which will not be good for the overall market. This weekend, I talked about gold and silver, which seem to be ready to go back up again. GLD, SLV, XAU, GDX, AEM, and PAAS should be interesting to keep our eyes on.

Good night and HappyTrading! ™