TSP Talk – Jobs Were Positive, but…

Weekly TSP Wrap-up from TSP Talk

Jobs were positive, but…

The holiday shortened trading week closed on a positive note on Thursday with strong gains across the board for stocks.

Although there was no trading on Friday, the March employment numbers were released, and while the +162,000 was huge increase in jobs, it was actually less than the 184,000 consensus estimates, so next week’s trading will have to interpret this number.

For the week, the TSP stock funds closed higher. The C-fund was up 1.02%, the S-fund rallied 1.15%, and the I-fund led the way with a 2.16% gain. The bond fund slipped 0.04%, and the G-fund added 0.06%.

For the month of March, which ended last Wednesday, all of the stock funds closed solidly in positive territory. The S-fund gained an impressive 7.39%, followed by the I- fund’s +6.28%, and the C-fund which made 6.04%. The F-fund was now down 0.11% for the month, and the G-fund added 0.27%.

There are very few chinks in the technical armor of this market right now. As long as the S&P 500 can stay above its rising trend line, and above the January highs support line, it is tough to argue with the bullish case. We had several question marks leading up to the double top, but since the breakout, the S&P has been able to maintain the trend.

Chart provided courtesy of www.decisionpoint.com, analysis by TSP Talk

I might start getting a lot more nervous if the trend line breaks as we are due for some sort of a pullback after the massive gains going back to March of 2009. Until then, enjoy the ride.

If you are not in stocks now, it might be tough to try to chase at these levels, but in the chart above you can see that the trend line was just tested again last week, and perhaps that means another move up toward the top of the ascending trading channel?

Good luck, and thanks for reading. We will be back here next week with another TSP Wrap Up.

Tom Crowley

www.tsptalk.com