PP-XLF = 14.51 - 2/26 Friday

[lookingherethere]

MS looks fine....

[merrillstanley]

Nice call LH, appears we're only ones here

[jack]

Did I piss off Uka? (don't see him)...sorry if I did - I have a way of doing that TOTALLY unintentionally sometimes...I feel bad

[merrillstanley]

now jack, do we need to spite you....i must have missed something

[abdogman]

no your not and thx merrilll i love the minute ......what say LHT

[merrillstanley]

fwiw accum continues to be postiive in xlf/spy

[Mikey]

Looking to cover 1/2 of my X around $52.1, watching the 20dma on the e-mini which is at $1,095.0 - we're at $1,101 right now and backtesting its desending 20ma on multiple timeframes,

VXX is now at $26.6, I'd like to lock some in around $27.1 - the VIX has a LOT of room to the upside but VXX is nearing an alltime low at $26.46 which I'd expect to hold barring a turnaround in the fundamentals, a good news release, etc...

CNBC release: Shadow banking system is source of weakness in financial conditions - despite Fed's actions mney is stll tight.

Rob's VERY tempted to short the e-mini's here but it breaks his rules and he's very good at being disciplined and sticking to his rules. He says the chart on the British Pound is setting up better for a short, just threw in 5 contracts short at 152.27 avg, if anyone trades FX go for it!

[merrillstanley]

Crude oil spikes to fresh highs at $79.34 following econ data; currently up $1.04 to $79.21

Point Gainers: DECK (+9.02), RST (+4.48), MHK (+3.09), MGLN (+2.60), CKR (+11.17), INT (+2.21), INSU (+2.17), OSIS (+1.29), GPS (+1.30), NUVA (+1.09), SOHU (+1.25)

Point Losers: ATHN (-5.80), PMFG (-4.08), WTW (-4.02), NAVG (-3.83), BXS (-3.62), DRQ (-2.79), FLR (-2.37), AIG (-2.36), GVA (-1.98), RMTI (-1.86), TPC (-1.61)

Limited activity for the market averages with trade confined near the flat line thus far. Sectors under pressure include: Semi -1%, Reg Bank KRE -0.7%, Disk Drive -0.7%, Casino -0.7%, Computer-Hardware -0.6% and Wireless. Groups on the plus side include: Healthcare +1.2%, Health Provider +0.7%, Silver SLV +0.8%, Restaurant +0.5%, Gold +0.5%.

[lookingherethere]

Hey! Nice mikey.. I need to put my glasses on now

[lookingherethere]

looks to be swinging back.. love it

[ukarlewitz]

EDZ gap fill. Bought 5.67. Eying a second hit of VXX per Mikey's numbers. Vix below 20 is a VXX buy and long sell. Interesting comments on sterling.

[jack]

PLEASE spite me!

(I must have this unconscious desire for flagellation like Muslim Shiites and Pope John Paul XXIII do/did)!

SPITE ME and I'LL FEEL BETTER!


Waiit a minute - Uk just showed up DON'T SPITE ME!!!!

[merrillstanley]

A:D 1.2:1...volume...meh,

KUDOS to our Olympic Athletes...really nice breakthrough, especially in the nordic events
Kim Yu-Na was spectacular

[merrillstanley]

lol jack, UK, today i should have taken off....i mean lethargic....Zzzzzzz

[merrillstanley]

Action has been choppy among equities in the early going -- stocks recently rebounded back toward neutral ground after a broad-based slip. However, commodities have managed to trade with steady gains for most of the morning.

Oil is currently one of the strongest plays in the commodity complex. Contracts last priced crude oil at $79.75 per barrel, up 2.0%. Natural gas prices are also up handsomely; they were last quoted at $4.83 per MMBtu, up 1.5%.

Elsewhere in the trading pits, gold prices are up 0.3% to $1111.50 per ounce, while silver prices were last quoted at $16.17 per ounce, up 0.4%. The pair of precious metals have managed to extend their gains in recent action amid a modest pullback by the greenback, which is now down roughly 0.2% against a basket of foreign currencies.

Broad-based strength among commodities has helped the CRB Commodity Index make its way to a 1.0% gain, which puts it at a session high. DJ30 +0.61 NASDAQ +0.10 SP500 -0.02 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 924/448 mln/1380 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1342/202 mln/1422

[merrillstanley]

Trading up -- RST +27.2%, CKR +25.9%, CHUX +10.8%, BIOS +9.4%, DECK +8.8%, INT +8.6%, MGLN +8.4%; Trading down -- PMFG -25.8%, RMTI -25.1%, BXS -21%, CBLI -18.4%, WTW -12.2%, ATHN -11.2%, NVTL -11.2%, CROX -8.7%

Advancing Sectors: Health Care (+0.1%)
Declining Sectors: Utilities (-0.4%), Consumer Staples (-0.4%), Materials (-0.4%), Consumer Staples (-0.4%), Tech (-0.3%), Consumer Discretionary (-0.3%), Financials (-0.3%), Energy (-0.2%), Industrials (-0.2%)DJ30 -0.98

[lookingherethere]

Feb 26, 2010 10:38:06 GMT -5 abdogman said:

no your not and thx merrilll i love the minute ......what say LHT

Hey Hey Hey... that is a fat albert quote... ;D

[merrillstanley]

Stock indices push to fresh highs above yesterday's rebound highs -- Dow +23, S&P +3, Nasdaq +5.3 (SPY) : The Dollar Index has broken slightly under Wednesday's low.

NASDAQ 100 (NDX) leaders & laggards moving through today's 1st hour of trading (STX) : NDX 100 Best % Performers:
STX +1.75%, BIDU +1.50%, MYL +1.50%, MICC +1.50%, CERN +1.50%, LINTA +1.50%, AAPL +1.50%, JBHT +1.0%, RIMM +1.0%, YHOO +1.0%

NDX 100 Worst % Performers:
FWLT -4.0%, VOD -2.0%, LRCX -1.25%, MXIM -1.25%, WYNN -1.25%, LLTC -1.25%, LIFE -1.0%, FLEX -0.75%, SPLS -0.75%, MCFHP -0.75%, AMAT -1.0%

NASDAQ TRIN @ +0.70
NASDAQ A/D @ -435

[merrillstanley]

anyone else playing BRCD after the drop?

[merrillstanley]

suprised the EMs are not performing better, overnight bloomberg comments were very postiive

[Mikey]

Good luck on EDZ, I think it'll hold here, retesting your buy point right now

The VXX is fighting its descending 20ma on the 5-min right now, could break out if it pushes through, then its 20hma is up at $27.1

Definitely taking heat on both X and VXX right now, but surprisingly comfy in my position - love that $111.0 held on the SPY again. This thing might turn hard soon when the news catches up with reality. Noticed that all the bad news releases have been followed by a tank in the dollar which props the equities up? That dollar volatility has saved us from market tankage several times this week...

I'm closely watching $80.4 on the dollar index - that was tested overnight and held - needs to hold here on this retest for me to reman bearish on the markets - if it breaks I might have to flip back to carry trade mode. It's interesting that the dollar has TANKED from $80.75 to $80.35 over the past 30 minutes (UUP down 15 cents) but the Dow is only up 20. Looking at the 3-month chart below though, I think its wise to stay bullish on the dollar and bearish on the equities.

[merrillstanley]

The stock market recently moved into positive territory with help from a weakened dollar, which is now down nearly 0.5% to a fresh session low against competing currencies. However, stocks have started to drift downward once again.

Health care stocks currently make up the strongest sector in the S&P 500. The group is up a collective 0.5% as managed care names (+1.8%) garner support. According to a Reuters report, President Barack Obama and Republicans clashed frequently on Thursday at a summit regarding health care reform.

Consumer staples stocks are at the other end of things. The sector is down 0.4% as brewers (-1.0%) and food distributors (-0.6%) lag. DJ30 +8.92 NASDAQ +0.17 SP500 +1.15 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1011/613 mln/1389 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1494/269 mln/1325

[merrillstanley]

OIS hitting R levels...nice rhythm stock

[jack]

Feb 26, 2010 11:19:49 GMT -5 merrillstanley said:

OIS hitting R levels...nice rhythm stock

One +karma to Merrill because he can spell rithim.

[merrillstanley]

y ty jack

[steel]

Uka, your site says:

Carl Futia

Friday, February 26, 2010
long one unit at 1098.50

[abdogman]

taking off for appt now back this afternoon Good Luck

[merrillstanley]

cya soon dog

[merrillstanley]

keep bumping along the top here....took some off tues, thc from this am acqs...
still bullish, but cautious

[merrillstanley]

Actively Traded Leading Global & Sector ETF Plays:
Crude/WTI oil- USO +2.0%, OIL +2.0%, Commods- GSG +1.75%, DBC +1.50%, iShares Australia- EWA +1.50%, RBOB gas- UGA +1.50%, India- INP +1.50%. Silver- SLV +1.25%, China 25- FXI +1.25%, iShares Healthcare- IHF +1.25%, Gold miners- GDX +1.0%, iShares Brazil- EWZ +1.0%, Gold- GLD +1.0%, Oil & gas exploration- XOP +1.0%, Coal- KOL +1.0%, SPDRS biotech- XBI +0.75%

Actively Traded Lagging Global & Sector ETF Plays:
Regional banks- KRE -1.0%, VIX vol index- VXX -1.0%, Wind energy- FAN -0.75%, Clean energy- PBW -0.50%, iShares Homebuilding & construction- ITB -0.50%, Livestock commods- COW -0.50%,US Dolal rindex- UUP -0.25%, Semis- SMH -0.25%, IGW -0.25%, SPDRS cons stpls- XLP -0.25%
The Dollar Index has broken slightly under Wednesday's low.