A continuation of the string of upbeat earnings, along with upgrades of GM, gave blue chips a boost but failed to entice the broad market. Also aiding the bull camp was lower energy prices.

The day's economic news was shockingly strong. Steep gains in home sales and durable goods spooked the market in early trade. These numbers were far from goldilocks and are seen as a reason for the Fed to continue raising rates.

According to Ken McCarthy, chief economist for vFinance Investments, "Right now, you could say we're sort of at a sweet spot, where we have healthy growth and reasonably high interest rates." He later added that recent economic activity indicates increased investments by businesses. Business investment is considered to be non-inflationary growth.

Helpful Hints:

According to the Stock Trader's Almanac, April is typically the best month of the year for the Dow (since 1950). In fact, April of 1999 was the first month ever to see 1000 points in the Dow. The market can be weak following the tax deadline, and as the earnings season winds down. April 28 marks the last day of the "best 6 months of the year".
 
Dow Recommendations
Swing Trade - Flat

Position Traders - We sold the May 116 call and the 108 put for $600...nice!!

Option Traders - We liquidated our bearish trade on Monday April 17th for a profit. We then reversed the position. We are long a May 112 call, short a 114 call and a 110 put some were getting filled at $100!! Wow, we couldn't have asked for better timing. On Monday (4-24) we liquidated our long 112 call for a little over a $1000 in profit on that leg, and are currently holding a short 114 call and 110 put. The profit on the long call pushes our reverse break near 116 and 108....not bad.

 
Nasdaq Recommendations
Swing Trade - Had you taken our recommendation you would be long from about 1750, if you are brave you might want to add on