After Hours Update

The market closed on a strong note today. The market rallied hard in the last hour to close positive on the day. Volume levels rose, making the positive reversal an accumulation day as well. So maybe this is the start of a new rally. As always, follow-thru will be the key.

Oil reversed sharply today, after nearing $77 it reversed and closed down at $73.60. Gold also suffered a big decline, taking it below its 50-day average. Bond yields finished higher at 5.13%.

After-hours, IBM reported solid numbers and the stock is higher. YHOO reported disappointing results and the stock is down -10% in late trading. The news is also hitting GOOG, but I think they will report a solid number later this week as they have been taking more market share.

Tomorrow, Bernanke will be speaking, and everyone (except the bears) is hoping that he will sound at least a little more dovish relative to recent comments. I think the odds of a pause in August have been raised, but the market won't breathe a sigh of relief until it senses this from the Fed.

long GOOG