Reply #1: Market WrapUp: Relatively Speaking, Things Are Not Looking Up [View All]

[ozymandius]

BY MICHAEL PANZNER

The shares of KeyCorp fell 10.4% today, hurt by news of a doubling of loan loss estimates and a downbeat outlook from Ohio’s third-largest bank. That weighed on the bellwether KBW Bank Index, which fell 1.7%, and the S&P financial sector, which lost 0.7%. Even so, financial shares in the U.S. and around the globe remain above the lows they hit back in mid-March. In comparison to other shares, however, the sector has been steadily losing ground. The benchmark MSCI World Financials Index, for example, is now trading at its lowest level in relative terms since August 2000.

-see chart-

Yesterday, the Census Bureau reported that single-family home sales rose at a better-than-expected 3.3%, though the year-on-year pace hit a dismal -42%, the lowest level since the fall of 1981. However, relative to sales of existing homes, new home sales have actually fallen to a record low. Moreover, based on the following chart, the recent sharp fall in the ratio also appears to show that recession is upon us.

.....

Since the Nasdaq-100 index (NDX) made its closing low on March 10th, the NDX has gained 19%. Yet the rally has been anything but broad-based. One stock, Apple, has accounted for almost a third of the move. Three of Jim Cramer's four "Horsemen of Technology" -- Apple, Google and Research in Motion -- have been responsible for half. Nine stocks have accounted for two-thirds of the gain. That’s not exactly a strong foundation.

http://www.financialsense.com/Market/wrapup.htm