A Look Ahead: This Week’s ETFs to Watch

It was a wild week at the office last week for U.S. stocks. There was the build up to the conclusion of the Federal Reserve meeting Wednesday, which resulted in the central bank eschewing tapering of its quantitative easing program. At least for one month and that was enough to send the S&P...

It was just a few weeks ago that investors were put on red alert that a rough September was in the offing. That has not been the case this month as September's reputation for being a dreadful month for the bulls is nearly out the window, particularly after last week saw U.S. stocks notch their...

U.S. stocks started September off on a strong note, but do not be fooled. September, with a proclivity for being unkind to the bulls, usually starts off well. The first week of the month is usually the best in which to own stocks. Stocks rose last week, even in the face of disappointing August...

U.S. stocks snapped a multi-week losing streak last week, but considerable uncertainty remains regarding when the Federal Reserve will begin tapering its $85 billion-per-month quantitative easing program. Markets hate uncertainty, but got a heaping dose of it last week when minutes from the...

U.S. stocks are coming off their worst weekly performance of the year last week and that glum showing provides fodder for those that know August is historically a rough month in which to be long stocks. Just two trading weeks are left this month and while that may sound like it could bring some...

When all was said and done last week, the S&P 500 finished a solid weekly gain of about 1.1 percent, helping stocks get off to a strong start in August. That is significant because August is not the best month to be long stocks and the first few trading days of the month are often...

Last week was an uneventful one, but when the closing bell rang Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average had risen 0.1 percent for the week, the S&P 500 was flat and the Nasdaq Composite was the leader with a gain of 0.7 percent. The coming week promises to be a far less docile affair. Not...

With just a few bumps along the way, it has been a great ride for stocks this year and the good times continued last week with S&P 500 notching another record close. However, there are some signs of weakness as Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) and Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) showed investors late in the...

In a week light on economic data points, but also one where the Federal Reserve again figured prominently into the equation, the S&P 500 mustered enough strength to close at a record high. So did the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Nasdaq Composite jumped to a new 52-week high. Oh and...

Thanks to a strong jobs report, U.S. stocks soared last Friday with all three major indexes gaining about one percent. After the U.S. Labor Department said 195,000 new jobs were added last month and that the April and May figures were revised higher, the S&P 500 settled the week with a gain...

June, the second quarter and the first half of 2013 are now in the books and while sixth month of the year was nothing to write home about for riskier assets, it cannot be forgotten that the first half of 2013 was the best first six months run for U.S. stocks since 1999. The S&P 500 fell 1....

Do not be fooled by last Friday's mini bounce for it may be of the dead cat variety. That is the kind of way saying it is hard to buy into one decent day for stocks as being a harbinger of near-term ebullience after all three of the major U.S. indexes closed lower by at least 2.5 percent for the...

A rough week for stocks has come and gone with all three major U.S. indexes settling lower. The S&P 500 shed nearly 1.2 percent as traders fretted over global central bank policy, namely the 800-pound gorillas in the room, those being the Bank of Japan and the Federal Reserve. Speaking of...

A better-than-expected May jobs report was the catalyst to lift U.S. stocks to another strong showing last week. Employers added 175,000 new jobs last month, but the unemployment rate rose to 7.6 percent from 7.5 percent. Still, that was enough to hearten the bulls. Over the last two days of...

On the bright side, the month of May is now in the books and it is fair to say the "sell in May and go away crowd" did not inflict much damage. After all the, the S&P 500 rose 2.1 percent for the month, marking the seventh straight monthly increase for the benchmark U.S. index. Unfortunately...