Market Recap - Greek Seesaw, Building Stocks, Sectors Breaking Out

The three major indices closed higher today, led by a 1.2% in the tech-heavy NASDAQ. Gold added 1% and is back to the $1700/ounce level as oil tacked on another 0.6%.

Greek Seesaw

The catalyst for the rally was news out of Greece that the participation rate in the debt swap was better than expected. Just a few days ago the rumors out of Greece were negative and it sent stocks to their worst day this year. This is why I told you several times, Not To Panic!! The market was setup for a pullback and the cornucopia of bad news earlier this week was enough to create a one-day selling frenzy. I look for more volatility in the next few months as the news out of Europe will once again move back to the forefront. Investors can use this to their advantage by entering new positions on the overzealous selling.

Building Stocks

The top performing sectors today were Cement, Lumber, and Residential Housing. I recently highlighted the housing market and made a bold call that we are at or very near the bottom and the related stocks have performed well. One of my favorite homebuilders, Lennar ($LEN), rallied 4.5% today to close at a new multi-year high.

The Lumber sector is directly related to the housing market and is a clear indicator of things to come in the future. Two stocks not in the lumber sector, but are related and were highlighted in this blog recently are Plum Creek Timber ($PCL) and Rayonier ($RYN). The two are REITs that own timberland.

Sectors Breaking Out

Some of the sectors breaking out to new 52-week highs today include the Brewers, Department Stores, General Building Materials, Home Improvement Stores, Discount Stores, and Auto Parts Stores.

The general theme here is Retail. The SPDR Retail ETF ($XRT) and HOLDR Retail ETF ($RTH) both closed at the best levels ever today. Retail stocks hitting new 52-week highs include Target ($TGT), TJX Companies ($TJX), Macy's ($M), Lowe's ($LOW), Dollar General ($DG), and Foot Locker ($FL).