The Market On Friday

Good morning. It is 25 degrees and cloudy here in Upstate NY. There was a very light dusting of snow on the ground this morning. They are talking snow for today but you never know. The new puppy had a good experience when we were out walking. Jed, the two year old Golden, and his owner happened to walk by as we were heading home. The interaction was initially a little tense but after a short time our puppy was comfortable and all tails were wagging. It helped that I kept feeding Jed treats and kept him more interested in me than the little puppy. Getting the puppy socialized is still a main priority.

At 8:10 a.m. futures are slightly up, the dollar is mostly down, and oil is up.

Today is the last trading day for 2011 and I guess hurray for that. If the market remains flat or goes higher, we will see the S&P in the black for the year. Its not a lot of black but at least its black. The NASDAQ will remain in the red, tough year for high tech.

If there is any kernel that we can take away from the recent articles including today's, it is simply that the present thinking has the US economy improving. The sticking point right now is in Europe. How the two will ultimately play out against each other is not clear but it will not be smooth either.

CNN: Stocks set for 2011's finish

Thursday's rebound put the S&P 500 back on track for a modest 0.4% gain in 2011, after the broad market index fell sharply Wednesday. The Dow is currently up 6.1% for the year, while the Nasdaq is set for a 1.5% loss.


Oil for February delivery rose 25 cents to $99.91 a barrel.