Market Strong;Lakers Weak

The market turned in a strong scorecard on Friday.Although trading volume remains thin,all the major averages gained more than 2% for the week.The Dow added 2.40%,while the NASDAQ notched 2.80 and the S&P climbed 2.04.The tech sector powered the rally on good earnings reports from Intel,IBM and Microsoft,although Google issued a poor one.The market was also cheered by a positive existing home sales number,up 5% to an 11-month high.
The Los Angeles Lakers were not cheerful on Friday night,however.Their road record fell to 1-6 as they were held to a season low 80 points by the Orlando Magic in Florida,falling by a score of 92-80.Dwight Howard led the Magic with 21 points and 23 rebounds,while Kobe Bryant continued his excellent season for the Lakers with 32 points.Howard attributed their success to the fact that they decided to play good defense,and his offensive approach was just to attack.
Commentator and former NBA star Magic Johnson noted that,although the Lakers were shooting 28%,they continue to shoot jump shots.I don't understand that.A lot of guys are open for a reason.When you struggle,you've got to take it to the basket,Johnson said.
The market will have plenty to digest next week as a torrent of data and earnings reports pour in.McDonald's,Apple,Procter&Gamble and AT&T are among the giant companies reporting,while durable goods,new home sales,consumer sentiment and Leading Economic Indicators figures will also be released.Europe and Iran may continue to factor into trading as well.
On Friday evening,the S&P futures edged up 0.40,and bond index futures fell.
McDonald's(MCD),Apple(AAPL),Proctor&Gamble(PG),AT&T(T)

Nowitzki Almost Well;Earnings Season Starts Well

Dallas Mavericks star Dirk Nowitzki said he's close to coming back into the lineup-hopefully on the Mavs' current road trip.He missed his 9th straight game Friday because of a sprained knee.The Mavs lost to the San Antonio Spurs 101-89.Dallas owner billionaire Mark Cuban attended the game at San Antonio's at&t Center,but to no avail for his struggling team.
San Antonio has the best record in the NBA,at 34-6,and were led by Tony Parker's 18 points,while Dallas' Shawn Marion scored 14.Parker said we've been lucky with our health,but it's a little too early to talk about being a championship team.The Spurs have achieved 5 straight wins.
The east was achieving some mighty cold temperatures Friday night,as Harrisburg,Pennsylvania was dropping down to the teens Fahrenheit.A clipper system was to cross the Great Lakes Saturday afternoon,bringing lake effect snow showers to the area.
Wall Street notched multiyear highs this week,with the Dow up 1.0,the NASDAQ 1.9 and the S&P 1.7.Earnings season had launched on an uptrend for Alcoa,Intel and JP Morgan Chase.The S&P futures continued the optimism Friday evening with a substantial 8.1 of further gain as bond prices dropped.
Alcoa(AA),Intel(INTC),JP Morgan Chase(JPM)

Profit-Taking Today

Friday was a day for booking profits as investors expressed doubts about the economic situation.Reports suggesting consumer weakness raised the level of uncertainty about the course of 2010-enough to make taking profits a prudent measure at this time.Even Intel,with its sterling achievements in Q4,was skimmed for cream.JP Morgan Chase reported loan losses,and CEO Jamie Dimon expressed uncertainty about the economy in the conference call following its quarterly report.A disappointing reading by the University of Michigan on consumer sentiment further agitated the markets,raising the volatility level,although stocks did close off their lows for the session.The prospect of a three day weekend in the U.S. left traders eager to safeguard their portfolios with a buffer of cash in the face of a questionable opening on Tuesday morning and a cascade of further earnings reports next week,icluding one from Citigroup.