MONDAY 5/5/14; PMI's; PFE; ISM Non-Mfg Index

The holiday theme continues. Japan (Childrens Day), Thailand and South Korean markets are closed. Dollar/yen 102.21. Australia shares move flat. Westpac reports strong profits and trades higher. China service-sector index rises slightly. The dollar/yuan is 6.2594 the worst performing currency this year. The HSBC PMI decreases for four consecutive months at 48.1 missing estimates and signaling a deepening economic slowdown in China. The Aussie dollar weakens and the ASX 200 slips negative. Oil is in a tug-o-war with the China slowdown wanting to pull oil prices lower but the ongoing Ukraine and other geopolitical unrest wanting to send prices higher. WTIC oil is above 100 to 100.41. Brent crude oil moves up towards 109.

BOJ’s Kuroda ..................



[Text is Redacted: Purchase May 2014-05 to Read the Complete Chronology]

The session ends with the SPX up 4 points, +0.2%, to 1885 closing near the highs. The LOD is 1866 so the bulls mount a near 20-handle turnaround. Tuesdays are very bullish days over the last few months but the positive shift is now beginning on Mondays lately. The Dow gains 18 points, +0.1%, to 16531 recovering off its intraday low at 16377, a 154-handle turnaround. The Nasdaq gains 14 points, +0.3%, to 4138. The RUT small caps finish on the negative side down -0.2% to 1126. XLF is down -0.4% so the bank weakness lingers. XLV is up +0.7% so healthcare leads. XLU +0.9%. VIX is 13.29 up slightly so volatility and the broader market are both up. One of them is wrong.

The dollar/yen 102 level and 2.58% support level for the 10-year yield are two key pivot points that held today to favor bulls. Dollar/yen 102.18. 10-year yield 2.62%. AAPL gains +1.4% finishing the day above 600 for the first time since October 2012. The divvy and buyback bull juice is powerful. The Fed supplies the easy money that is used for buybacks to pump stock prices higher. Long-trader darling RLGY collapses -9% down far more intraday. RMAX dumps -2% recovering off its lows. XHB loses -1.3% on Gundlach’s comments. PFE -2.6%. GM -0.6%. TWTR -0.7%. Cloud computing stocks are weak.

After the bell, AIG beats on EPS but misses on the top line and trades lower. Do you notice the ongoing weak top line sales number trend for companies across all sectors? EOG announces strong results. DATA trades higher after reporting better than expected earnings. APC bounces +2% on an earnings beat. VNO trades higher after their earnings release.