Restaurants: I keep noticing restaurant stocks that have been very strong. To verify this observation, I looked at the S&P 1500 Restaurant Index shown below. As you can see, this index has been in a very consistent uptrend since the market low in 2009. Interestingly, this group has been somewhat immune from the recent market turbulence and is currently trading at new highs.
Restaurant Stocks (Since 4/2009)
Europe: Europe continues to have a strong influence on the U.S. stock market. Today, Italy’s Prime Minister said he would resign once an austerity plan is passed. With this news, the market rallied almost two percent intraday.
Oil: All of the headlines out of Europe have pushed this to the background, but since October 5, Oil has rallied from $75 to $97 per barrel.
Oil (One Year)
Market Today: The market wavered around flat today until news came out of Europe this afternoon of Berlusconi’s resignation. All sectors ended up on the day and I noticed particular strength in the homebuilders.
Have a good day! Brent
