Before the Open (Oct 19)

Good morning. Happy Monday. Hope you had a nice weekend.
The Asian/Pacific markets closed mostly up – China gained 2%.
Europe is currently up across the board – several countries are up more than 1%.
Futures here in the States suggest a gap up open for the cash market. This comes off Friday’s moderate down day and an 8 of the 10 winning streak. …

As is typically the case on a Monday, I don’t have much to add to my weekend report. The trend is up…higher highs and higher lows are firmly in place. The S&P and Russell have room to move before hitting overhead resistance on their weekly charts while the Dow and Nas are at resistance. Something has to give here. Either the S&P and Russell pull the market up or the Dow and Nas struggle here and keep the upside limited.
Also the banks and tech started to lag a little late last week. It’s not a big concern yet – just something to keep an eye on.
Also the dollar is trying hard to find some support. If successful, the market’s upside will be temporarily capped.
And of course this is earnings season. News trumps the charts, so no entering or holding positions into a report. Thus far the market has been rewarding those that do well.
Oil is busting out. This isn’t horrible; it suggests demand is increasing which only happens when the economy is strengthing (although you could argue the increased demand is seasonal). But oil is a nasty parasite. It benefits from an expanding economy, but as a raw material, it chokes off the economy as its price moves up.
More comments after the open.
headlines at Yahoo Finance
today’s upgrades/downgrades
yesterday’s Sector Performance
this week’s Earnings Reports
this week’s Economic Numbers