Markets finally had a strong week last week. Things popped higher on Monday, as SPX closed just under 1990. Tuesday and Wednesday saw some struggles with the direction as the trading range narrowed. However, Thursday's Fed Minutes gave buyers reasons to push markets higher. Friday was a flat with small gains. SPX managed to close near 2015.

We also had a nice week with most of our trades in the "plus" column! Our calls on GLD yielded profits as high as +59%. Our stock trades on JUNO and PTCT were quite nice as well! Here are the closed trades for the week:

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For the week, the Dow was up +612.12 points; SPX added +63.53 points; Nasdaq gained +122.69 points. Gold advanced last week, closing above $1155/ounce. Old also jumped, with WTI trading near $50/barrel! At the time of this writing, Asian markets were mostly up. Here are how the US markets looked after Friday's close:

SPX

On Friday, SPX added +1.46 points to close at 2014.89. Its daily MAs and MACD went up.

Nasdaq

Nasdaq gained +19.68 points to close at 4830.47. Its daily MAs and MACD also went higher.

Both SPX and Nasdaq managed to stay above their respective daily MAs. The recent strength in energy stocks has helped SPX; on the other hand, the weakenss in biotechs have held back Nasdaq. What's also interesting is that after the recent pulled back, it seems that more money shifted into the blue-chip stocks, as the Dow has been very strong:

The Dow (DJI)

Last week, the Dow managed to close above 17,000, and it is up +11.2% from its recent low, much higher than the small-caps (Russel 2000), which is up only about +8% from the lows!

For the new week, earnings season is kicking in. We start off with the financials this week. Here are some notable earnings:

Monday: (AM) INFY
Tuesday: (AM) JNJ, ASML; (PM) JPM, INTC, CSX
Wednesday: (AM) BAC, DAL, WFC, BLK, PNC; (PM) NFLX, XLNX
Thursday: (AM) BX, C, GS, UNH, USB, TSM; (PM) MAT, SLB
Friday: (AM) GE, HON, KSU, STI

Besides the financials, we have INTC, ASML, and XLNX representing the seminconductors. It will be interesting to hear from SLB on Thursday to see how the recent low oil prices have affected the industry. KSU on Friday will allow us to get a peak from the rails. GE and HON can give us addition information on how the US economy is doing as a whole.

On the up-side, SPX's nearest resistance is at 2040. On the down-side, SPX has support at 2000 to 1990; and, then 1975.

Sector Watch

FAS (financials)

FAS slid on Friday, but, the whole week was still positive. We have JPM reporting on Tuesday afternoon, followed by BAC, WFC, BLK, and PNC on Wednesday morning. GX, C, and GS will report on Thursday morning. Most banks look neutral going into earnings.

BTK (biotech)

The biotech has been among the weakest sectors. If it turns higher, it will certainly help fuel the recent bounce in the broader market. BIIB was weak on Friday, as it announced the departure of its VP of Global Commercial Operations. AMGN seems to be gathering some buyers. REGN and VRX also bounced on Friday.

SOXX (semiconductor)

SOXX also slid on Friday. ASML is reporting on Tuesday morning; INTC follows in the afternoon. XLNX also reports on Wednesday afternoon. Although the sector has been doing well. The darlings in AAPL's ecosystem have not, namely CRUS, SWKS, NXPI, BRCM and AVGO. So, it will be interesting to see how this sub-group do in the coming week.

FDN (internet)

FDN crept higher along with the broader market last week. NFLX is report on Wednesday after market. NFLX just announced an increase of $1 of its standard membership plan from $8.99 to $9.99, which could be an indicator of confidence and comfort with is subscriber addition in the past quarter. TWTR finally turned the corner last week as it has chosen a new CEO. YELP had also turned bullish. LNKD still appears a bit undecided.

Good night and HappyTrading! ™