Forget DJIA 11,000… S&P 1,200, Then NASDAQ 2,500

Investors have been cheering for the Dow Jones Industrial Average to break above 11,000 for days and weeks, and we are now considerably above it now that two DJIA components are up on earnings and pulling peers up with them.  The DJIA is up 45 points at 11,064.61…. The real cheer should come from the S&P 500 hitting 1,200. The NASDAQ also is within sniffing distance of 2,500…

The biggest challenge, and the one that futures traders and market technicians will be looking at even more than the DJIA, is that the S&P 500 broke over 1,200 again… At 9:56 AM EST the S&P500 is up 5.34 points at 1,202.64.  The highs yesterday were 1,199.04 and 1,199.20.  The last time we saw 1,200 on the S&P 500 was in September 2008, and actually the high was over 1,300 that month.  The bull market cycle high was 1,576.09 in October 2007.

And now the NASDAQ is challenging the 2,500 mark as it is up 19.35 at 2,485.34.    The last time the NASDAQ was up over 2,500 was June 2008, and the high hit in May 2008 was 2,551.47.  The bull market cycle high in 2007 and into 2008 was 2,861.51 in October 2007.

The public and the media prefers to still talk about the Dow Jones Industrial Average.  But the S&P 500 getting to 1,200 and then if the NASDAQ can take out 2,500 are much larger events.

Will profit taking come into play here soon?  That probably depends now upon how much the major companies can beat earnings estimates by after seeing such large runs.  The earnings are impressive from last night and this morning, but the big issue lies with what the valuations should be on many of these key stocks.

JON C. OGG