In an Uncertain World S&P 500 Post Record Highs

$DIA, $SPY, $QQQ, $VXX

Friday the S&P 500 Index marked a new record, as investors showed confidence corporate earnings will not derail a rally that finished its 4th week running.

The S&P 500 rose 0.5 percent to 2,175.03 at 4:30p in New York, its 7th all-time high in the last 2 weeks, The benchmark gained 0.6% on the week, the smallest such advance in its 4-week run.

The S&P 500 has marked the longest stretch of weekly gains since March. The benchmark on Wednesday posted its 6th record in 8 sessions, the DJIA rose for 9 straight sessions, its longest rally since Y 2013, before halting the advance Thursday.

Speculation that central banks will act to cushion any fallout from Brexit, and signs of a strengthening US economy have driven stocks higher in recent weeks.

This earnings season has boosted optimism corporate results will support equities near records.

About 25% of S&P 500 firms have released figures so far, of which 82% exceeded profit forecasts and 60% beat sales expectations. The flow is set to accelerate, with more than 180 companies scheduled to report results next week.

Analysts forecast net income among S&P 500 members will slide 4.5% in Q-2, improving from a 5.8% fall predicted a week ago for a 5th straight Quarterly decliner.

While better-than-forecast data has helped push stocks to fresh highs, it has also lifted odds of a US Fed interest-rate increase. Traders are pricing in a 46% chance of higher borrowing costs by December, up from about 21% 2 weeks ago, and a less than 8% probability after the 2-day equity selloff following the Brexit vote.

Friday, the US major stock market indexes finished at: DJIA +53.62 at 18570.85, NAS Comp +26.26 at 5100.16, S&P 500 +9.86 at 2175.03

Volume: Trade was light with about 733-M/shares exchanged on the NYSE

• Russell 2000 +6.8% YTD
• DJIA +6.6% YTD
• S&P 500 +6.4 YTD
• NAS Comp +1.9%

Have a terrific weekend.

  Brexit, DIA, DJIA, expectations, Fed, profits, QQQ, record, S&P 500, sales, SPY, stocks, VXX

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Paul Ebeling

Paul A. Ebeling, polymath, excels in diverse fields of knowledge. Pattern Recognition Analyst in Equities, Commodities and Foreign Exchange and author of “The Red Roadmaster’s Technical Report” on the US Major Market Indices™, a highly regarded, weekly financial market letter, he is also a philosopher, issuing insights on a wide range of subjects to a following of over 250,000 cohorts. An international audience of opinion makers, business leaders, and global organizations recognizes Ebeling as an expert.

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