All the major indices are firmly in the green today. The DOW hit yet another record intra-day high, at 18,616, up 130 points, helped by IBM. Oil is also taking the markets higher as it is up 5% on the day. And, renewed hope that retail is rebounding is providing catalyst for the rally. The Retail ETF, XRT, is up over 2% in today’s session.  

Consumer Discretionary, Energy, Health Care and Industrials are all strong while utilities lag. Trading volume remains light with advancers outperforming decliners (NYSE 2006/1017 and NASDAQ 1888/826) and new highs outpacing new lows (NYSE 160/5, NASDAQ 120/28).  And the Volatility Index (VIX) is trading down again to 11.85.  

The greenback is relatively flat, and gold is back above $1350, but has given up much of its earlier gains. U.S. Treasurys are down a bit, but the 10-year yield is still around 1.53%. Gold is back above $1350, however it has given up most of its earlier gains.

Initial claims for the week ending August 6 decreased to 266,000 from the prior week’s revised 269,000. The 4-week moving average however was higher by 3,000 to 262,750 from the prior week’s revised 259,750. This marks yet another week of claims below 300,000, taking it to 75 consecutive weeks and the longest run since 1970…..we can start reciting this by now.