Stocks jumpafter home prices, confidence surge

Wall Street Week Ahead: Look for Signs in the Rally's Break

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That's why Wednesday's reversal - where the Dow and the S& P 500 both rose more than 1% during the morning, but fell more than 1% in the afternoon - caused many investors to take notice.

" That's a change. Historically, when you get that kind of a reversal day, it kind of stalls things out for a while," said Frank Gretz, market analyst and technician for brokerage Shields & Co in New York.

But he said the market's up trend has mostly been orderly, with little divergent action.

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World stock markets look set to bump around awhile after Thursday's plunge in Japan before resuming a rally fueled by cheap central bank cash.

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — U.S. stocks fell for the first week in five as the prospects of the Federal Reserve starting to reduce its bond-buying stimulus rattled a market trading at historic highs.

Friday’s losses, however, were mild as investors found some support from a stronger-than-forecast report on demand for big-ticket purchases and after the prior session’s improvement in jobless claims.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended Friday with an 8.6-point gain, up 0.1% at 15,303.10 after losing 95 points early in the session. It lost 0.3% for the week.

The S& P’s 500 Index  dipped 0.91 point, or 0.1%, to 1,649.6. Among S& P sectors, utilities, energy and telecommunications were the biggest losers. The index lost 1.1% for the week.

The Nasdaq Composite  lost 0.3 point, or 0.01%, to 3,459.14, off 1.1% for the week.

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“The market likely will be in a push and pull scenario as growth moves forward and investors speculate on future Fed action,” said Michael Yoshikami, CEO of Destination Wealth Management in Walnut Creek, Calif., in an email interview.

Helping lift sentiment a bit, the Commerce Department said orders for long-lasting, big-ticket U.S. goods rose 3.3% in April, led by higher demand for aircraft, military wares and autos. That beat forecasts, as economists surveyed by MarketWatch had expected a 1.4% gain.

U.S. markets will be closed Monday for Memorial Day, and U.K. markets will be closed Monday for a holiday.

“Profit-taking ahead of a long weekend in the U.S. and U.K. appears to be the name of the game today, said Colin Cieszynski, senior market analyst at CMC Markets in emailed remarks.

Sechan said that equities held promise with valuations at a 15 multiple this year and 14 next year.

" There's room to run," he said, comparing stocks as an asset class to " the best house on a bad block."

" I think investors are looking to re-embrace that risk," he said.

U.S. stocks end volatile day with modest loss

Equities hit by Fed, Asian selloff, but then pare losses

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — U.S. stocks fell modestly on Thursday, substantially paring intraday losses after upbeat U.S. economic reports and gains for Hewlett-Packard Co. countered worries about the Federal Reserve potentially tapering its bond-buying program.

Stocks had dropped sharply at the start of trading, taking their cue from a massive selloff in Japanese equities overnight. However, they began to lift off their session lows after the release of housing data mid-morning.

The session was choppy, with stocks briefly rising into positive territory only to surrender those gains.

The S& P’s 500 Index dipped 4.84 points, or 0.3%, to end at 1,650.51, with utilities leading declines among its 10 major sectors and telecommunications the only gainer. The Nasdaq Composite  fell 3.88 points, or 0.1%, to 3,459.42.

After dropping as much as 127 points, the Dow Jones Industrial Average finished down 12.67 points, or 0.1%, at 15,294.50, with only nine of its 30 components in positive territory.

The blue-chip index was helped by a 17% jump by Hewlett-Packard Co.  following the computer maker’s earnings report.

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“Yes, stocks really can go down,” said Brian Belski, chief investment strategist at BMO Capital Markets. Before staging a negative reversal Wednesday, the S& P 500 had risen to an intraday record of 1,687.18 representing an 18% gain in 2013 to date.

But Belski, speaking early Thursday, added that he views the current action as just a pullback.

“Do we believe the bull market is over? Categorically no,” he said. “This is a calm. This is a respite. This is not 2008.”

Other strategists also have said they’re not expecting a deep drop for U.S. equities, saying the Nikkei was more “stretched.” U.S. stock futures had been sharply lower ahead of the Wall Street open, but the stock market pared losses as the regular session progressed. That signals there were people with money on the sidelines waiting to buy on a sloppy day, said Robert Doll, chief equity strategist at Nuveen Asset Management.

Ben says QE3 might slow soon, how will market unfold?