Thursday, February 18, 2010
Market Commentary:

Investors digested a slew of economic and earnings news on the 9th day of the current rally attempt. The earnings and economic news of the day sent mixed economic signals. Retail giant Wal-Mart (WMT) gapped down and sliced below its 50 DMA line after reporting tepid Q4 results. Earnings rose +9% while sales rose +1% vs. the same period in the prior year. While this was a strong improvement from the first three quarters of 2009, analysts were expecting better results. Barring some unforeseen event, the average company in the benchmark S&P 500 grew its earnings close to +70% last quarter which snapped a record nine quarter losing streak.
Fed Unexpectedly Raises Rates From +0.50% to +0.75%:

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