Stocks Seeking a Catalyst

by David Brown, Chief Market Strategist, Sabrient Systems

Today saw the S&P 500 continue to slide slowly from its recent three-and-a-half-year high. The index closed at 1329.47, down -0.62%.

One-Day Bounce or Return to the Bulls?

by David Brown, Chief Market Strategist, Sabrient Systems

We have all heard the old Wall Street adage to “sell in May and go away” until October, as the market historically underperforms in the May-September timeframe. And indeed, after the “bin Laden gap up” at the open on Monday, stocks quickly turned tail. Today, the selling intensified following the disappointing ISM Non-Manufacturing Index for April, with Energy and Materials the hardest hit.

More Earnings Like DISH, HUM & HIG

by David Brown, Chief Market Strategist, Sabrient Systems

The market has had yet another strong week, reaching new 3-1/2 year highs.

ShareBuilder Renamed ING DIRECT Investing, Adds Sabrient Research to Website

ING DIRECT USA, the nation's largest direct bank, has announced that ShareBuilder Securities Corporation, its broker-dealer subsidiary, will be renamed ING DIRECT Investing, Inc.  With a redesigned website, ING DIRECT now offers ratings reports from Sabrient and other research providers.

For the first time in the 98-year history of the Federal Reserve, its chairman held a news conference after its FOMC policy meeting. So, what was the big news? QE2 will end in June as planned, but as I speculated last week, they will keep the balance sheet steady by continuing to reinvest maturing assets into the debt markets. They will also keep the Fed Feds Rate in the 0.00-0.25% range. Both of these are stimulative to the economy.

4 Stocks for an Odd Market

by David Brown, Chief Market Strategist, Sabrient Systems

As it turned out, the market was undaunted by the S&P negative outlook on U.S. debt. After the initial shock wore off, which took one down-day last Monday, the market bounced back and was quite positive for the rest of the week.

In my weekend analysis, I talked about the possibility of a bullish reverse head-and-shoulders formation for the stock market. And after allowing for a brief panic on Monday, the market has been quite strong this week and appears to be confirming the bullish pattern.