Sam Collins

Trend Still Down Despite Rally

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Nevertheless, economic concerns, and especially unemployment, still hang over the market. Initial jobless claims for the week ending June 13 totaled 627,000, which is more than forecast and higher than the previous week. The Wall Street Journal reported that big companies are continuing to make "hefty cuts" to their payrolls. Kimberly-Clark Corp. (KMB) said Thursday that it plans to cut about 1,600 jobs.

At the close, the Dow was up 173 points to 8,472, the S&P 500 gained 19 points, and Nasdaq (NASD) rose 37 points.

The NYSE traded 1.2 billion shares, with advancers ahead of decliners by more than 4-to-1, while Nasdaq traded 690,000 shares, with advancers also ahead by 4-to-1.

What the Markets Are Saying

On Thursday, the "500" rose 19 points to above 920. This was expected and doesn't change the near-term trend. It is still down.

Near-term we should be selling into this rally, but if the bulls are able to close the "500" over the 20-day moving average and the left shoulder top at 930, the near-term trend will change from "down" to "sideways."