Weekly Market Re-Cap: 02/27/2012
Last week we saw modest gains in the Dow and NASDAQ. The S&P 500 posted a slight decline. Oil prices ($109.13 per barrel) were the main contributor to the flat week and should consume most of the headlines this week as well. Oil prices spiked on fears that from the Middle East and turmoil with Iran and Nigeria. Some analysts suggest we could see oil prices settle in around the 120 per/ barrel mark before it’s all done. This will typically affect consumer sentiment, but I do not see it dragging down or reversing the current market rally.
We did get some good numbers from our macro economy last week. We had existing home sales increase by 4.3% in January. We did receive positive news from Consumer Sentiment, but expect that to pull back with gasoline prices climbing. Look for Durable Goods, GDP, and Vehicle Sales this week.