US Market Summary 1 Feb 08

Dow 12,743.19 +92.83 +0.73%
Nasdaq 2,413.36 +23.50 +0.98%
S&P 500 1,395.42 +16.87 +1.22%

After volatile trading on Friday, stocks proved to be resilient by ending on a high note. The stock market's 1.2% gain today capped off a strong 4.9% gain for the week.

Traders were encouraged that the stock market was able to hold up in the face of a worse than expected jobs reading. Word of the largest tech acquisition in history and a better than expected manufacturing reading helped sentiment.

Next Monday is the crux of whether the week ahead is uptrend or downtrend. We can expect a strong buying frenzy on the first half of trading. If the Asia Markets are able to end on a positive note on Monday, we can expect an uptrend for the rest of the week. Dow might end on a flat or negative note on Monday, as I predict profit taking after going up so much. Load up some strong stocks like Singtel etc on down, and hold it for mid term gains. If selling occurs on Monday afternoon, offload it at once.