Drangie, a trader from Spain was also on both sides of the US index markets. For the week this trader scalped the S&P 500 more than 10 times, showing gains on the majority of her trades. Petra09, a Spanish trader who has been long US indexes during the upward trend, notched up a few nice trades on the Dow Industrials, as well as the European bourses. Mid-week the trader closed a position in the Dow that returned more than 31%. He closed out a long Dow position earlier in the week with a gain of 39%.
The US markets consolidated early in the week, as Greek headlines captured the attention of the investor community. Economic data released Thursday boosted US investors’ confidence, as better than expected Jobless Claims, along with solid Housing Starts, increased sentiment. Initial employment claims declined by 13,000 to 348,000 according to the Labor Department. Economists had expected claims to climb by 7,000 to 365,000. The decline below 350,000 is in line with an unemployment rate lower than the current 8.3%. The better jobs picture is increasing investor sentiment and consumer confidence.
Investor fear, measured by the VIX volatility index, also declined during the course of the week. The VIX remained stubbornly strong throughout the beginning of the week climbing as high at 21.5%, before turning on Thursday after the strong US economic data. The VIX declined back down to 18%, and is likely to test support levels near 17.5%.
Technically, the Nasdaq 100 broke through resistance near 2550, making an 11 year high. The Nasdaq is being driven by large cap stocks such as Apple, and is now up more than 13% for the year. Moving forward, the US markets should continue to provide good opportunities for Openbook traders like Tanzeeb who plays on both sides of the market.
Copyright 2012 eToro Blog
