Courtesy of John Nyaradi.
Dow Jones Industrial Average faces volatile week with political showdown and earnings reports taking center stage.
Last week the Dow Jones Industrial Average (NYSEARCA:DIA) took a wild ride and this week could be even more turbulent as Thursday’s debt ceiling deadline approaches and earnings season swings into high gear.
For the week, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (NYSEARCA:DIA) gained 1.1% while the S&P 500 (NYSEARCA:SPY) added 0.8%.
The Nasdaq Composite (NYSEARCA:QQQ) fell 0.4% and the Russell 2000 (NYSEARCA:IWM) gained 0.6%.
Oil (NYSEARCA:USO) finished the week at $101.77/bbl, down 1.7% for the week and gold (NYSEARCA:GLD) dropped 3.4% to close at $1272.60/oz.
The standoff on Capitol Hill continued into the weekend as the White House and House Republicans were unable to agree on a deal and a proposal by Senate Democrats was shut down, as well. On Sunday, the two Senate leaders, Democrat Harry Reid and Republican Mitch McConnell were huddling in hopes of striking a deal that could bring the standoff to an end. These two were key players in the last settlement that led to the sequestration agreement and so hopes are for yet another 11th hour settlement before Thursday’s deadline.
This week will see more than 50 S&P 500 (NYSEARCA:SPY) and major Dow Jones Industrial Average (NYSEARCA:DIA) companies reporting earnings with notable names including Citigroup (NYSE:C) Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) , Verizon, Coca Cola, Johnson & Johnson, Intel, Google, IBM, General Electric and Yahoo!.
On My Stock Market Radar
Fundamental headwinds include the political debate and a forecast earnings slowdown while technical indicators also point to potential weakness in major U.S. stock indexes.
chart courtesy of StockCharts.com
In this point and figure chart of the Dow Jones Industrial Average (NYSEARCA:DIA) we can see how the index is on a “sell” signal with a price objective of 13750, nearly 10% below current levels.
Major support, however, exists at the 14,600 level and last week the index tested its 200 day moving average at 14748, one day before Thursday’s monster rally.
Stock Market News You Can Really Use
Earnings will be the big news as many economic reports have been delayed by the government shutdown.
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