Stock Market Movers, Money Makers

Global drama continues to hurt the markets. Last night the futures were getting crushed as Asia and Europe sold sharply as continued worries about Spain and Portugal killed the Euro. In addition, North Korea and South Korea seem to be one bullet away from a major confrontation. The Dollar soared again but into a major double top from last week. Since the opening highs of the Dollar, a pull back has occurred. The markets in response have inched higher into the gap down low from Friday. On the SPDR S&P 500 ETF SPY, this level is $105.90. The SPY has hit it many times today and has yet to break through. As long as the markets stay below this level, look for a possible retest of the lows of the day. Should the markets inch above this $105.90 level, the markets may continue to advance higher for the rest of the day. The key for this market remains Europe and the Euro. Europe must find some way to calm the fears of default and get the Euro to inch higher. So far this has not been possible. Stocks continue to trade off their lows. While commodities are under pressure, AK Steel Holding Corporation AKS is surging higher. Citigroup upgraded the stock from neutral to outperform citing valuation. They gave it a $19.00 price target. The stock is trading at $14.20 +$0.68 (5.03%). This happens to be one of the few long plays Chief Market Strategists have given out in recent days. Sure enough, regardless of the markets fall, all members who got the entry on AKS are in the money nicely. Other steel players are not doing quite as well. United States Steel Corporation X is down about 2.40% on the day. While most financial stocks continue to be under pressure, Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. GS is trading nicely higher. The stock is at $138.53 +$1.84 (1.35%). This is in a sharp contrasts to stocks like Wells Fargo & Company WFC, JPMorgan Chase & Co. JPM, Morgan Stanley MS which are all solidly lower on the day. One has to wonder if Goldman Sachs is making a killing on the crazy volatility in this market. Earnings may be insanely huge when they report for the current quarter. Gareth Soloway Chief Market Strategist www.InTheMoneyStocks.com