How Far Will This Bull Take the S&P 500?

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Stocks rallied yesterday, opening the new quarter with solid gains. The catalyst for the move higher was an ISM report that indicated that an expansion of U.S. manufacturing continued through March, and employment jumped too.

The rally produced another breakout high for the S&P 500, and the Nasdaq led the major indices with a gain of 0.91%. At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 52 points to 13,264, the S&P 500 gained 11 points at 1,419, and the Nasdaq rose 28 points to 3,120. The NYSE traded 763 million shares, and the Nasdaq crossed 470 million. Advancers exceeded decliners on both exchanges by almost 3-to-1.

SPX Chart
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Yesterday, the S&P 500 took the bull by the horns and rode him to a new high. The breakout at the old resistance, now support, number at 1,371 is now proving to be a major technical event. In fact, the pattern and angle of attack is almost as steep as the Nasdaq’s, and its future may be just as bright.

If we consider the “real bottom” of the S&P 500 to be at about 1,125 and the breakout at 1,371 to be a “sort of neckline,” then the target for the bull market is about 1,615.

AUY Chart
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Materials, commodities, and other laggards received some serious money yesterday. Even the gold miners bounced. Our favorite there is still Yamana Gold (NYSE:AUY), which gained 32 cents and still looks like it can be a $20 stock.

Conclusion: Despite all of the doom and gloom, the stock market is making new highs. This is the mark of a powerful bull market that may exceed the target of the most optimistic technicians — yes, even S&P 500 1,615.

Today’s Trading Landscape

To see a list of the companies reporting earnings today, click here.

For a list of this week’s economic reports due out, click here.


Article printed from InvestorPlace Media, https://investorplace.com/2012/04/daily-stock-market-news-how-far-will-this-bull-take-the-sp-500/.

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