Market Summary

At the mid year point what can we expect from the rest of the year? Sentiment in the short and intermediate term is bullish and we have made a higher high and higher low on the daily chart. Technically that is all good but what really moves the market is the fundamentals of the economy. Jobs, the housing market, government spending, and retail sales are just some of the indicators that will determine where we go. Ease of credit, the CPI, inflation or deflation, and the business cycle are some of the others. And lets not forget sovereign debt and currency concerns which change and change the market.
Today is options expiration day, the 3rd Saturday of the month, and is often in my experience a turning point in the market. The chart below shows that we have been going sideways for the last several hours and have formed a pennant over the last several days. This could be building a high base which is considered bullish should we break out to the upside. However, we will just have to wait and see. Click on image to enlarge.

Looking at the daily chart in the image above shows a bigger perspective on the market trend. So far it is looking good. Click on chart to enlarge.

GLD has once again topped the list of ETFs moving to the upside for the YTD period passing up UUP which has retreated down as of late. For the week the gasoline ETF UGA was up the most followed by the natural gas ETF UNG while the US Dollar was down the most. Click on table to enlarge.