Payrolls rose 157,000 following a revised 196,000 advance in the prior month and a 247,000 surge in November, Labor Department figures showed today in Washington. This was the major impetus for the S&P 500 hitting new highs for 2013, with the MAR13 futures trading up 10.5 points to 1503.75, hitting a high of 1507.50. Our decision level, or line in the sand for this market is 1460. This means, to us, that as long as the market is above 1460 it is in extreme bull mode. We anticipate this market to rally another 50 points by this summer, hitting 1550.
The market is forward looking, and today’s report, especially with positive revisions to earlier months, gives the market a huge boost of confidence as to how the economy is performing. The only item that seemed to halt a huge up day in the S&P 500 is the unemployment rate, which actually ticked up .1%. The runaway bullish gap in our view is a very bullish indicator for this market. We would not be surprised to see the market move higher beyond 1550 this year.
The energy markets have truly been an interesting story as of late, with RBOB gasoline futures, heating oil futures, and crude oil futures all showing significant strength. RBOB gasoline is up again today, trading up $.015 to $3.04. Crude oil is more quiet today, but still up $.15 to $97.61. This market does seem to be losing steam after making a one-way $11 rally from the base at $86. Crude may consolidate from here in the short term.
Precious metals are also up slightly today, with silver futures leading the way. Silver is up $.43 or 1.79% to $31.79. Gold is up $9 to $1,670. We don’t foresee any big upside moves to gold soon as we believe the market is moving more towards equities and energy. Silver, typically known as a volatile precious metal, has stayed true to the reputation recently.
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