The week saw the Stock Markets rally, the Dow ended up at 12,276, FTSE 100 index at 6246. The asian stock markets, including China also rallied. In our analysis immediately following China's mini crash, I suggested that the Stock Markets would make a bottom during the week and start to rally towards targets of 12,525 for the Dow Jones and 6300 for the FTSE. Following which another down leg would begin. Stock Markets follow China Lower - What to expect next as China's crash continues in Asia 27th Feb 07.

Back to the week that was -

The plunge in Gold had caught many market participants off guard, so there was a flurry of activity in trying to determine whether the Gold bull was still in tact. The conclusion of which was that the fundamentals for the gold bull market were still intact. The most bearish picture painted for gold - GOLD Elliott Wave Analysis - Is Gold Really Safe? We Think Not , suggested that gold was headed much lower in the immediate term. Of many more bullish gold articles , Gold and Silver Bull Market Set to Continue - Six Reasons Why covered the key reasons of why Gold should continue to rise, despite any short-term weakness.

Speculation of a US slowdown and future Fed Interest rate cuts continued, however this is usually a cue for Gold and other metals to decline in price, in the article - Fed Signaling Future US Interest Rate Cuts - Gold to benefit , analysis suggests that Gold may rise strongly when the Fed starts to cut interest rates, the key reason being that the US dollar would fall sharply, leading to a sharp spike in most commodities as they are priced in US dollars.

The bulk of articles concerning the future direction of the Stock Market, concluded that there was more selling to come and that the current rally was by and large corrective. Stock Market Rallies after last weeks slump - The Worst is Far from Over! , The most bullish article was Stock Market Analysis - A Major Crash...or a Major Bottom?

The most significant factor impacting on the financial markets is the continuing bearish news concerning the US housing market due especially the impact of failures in the subprime mortgage sector of the finance sector (Subprime mortgages hit Banking sector and likely to lead to further Stock Market Falls) . The next wave of the US Housing Market Crash - Apartment REITs suggests a new wave of financial collapses are in the offing, as the housing crash spreads to the apartment REITs sector.

The article "The Quiet Energy Crisis as Mexican Crude Oil production tumbles", highlighted the precarious situation in Mexico's oil production industry, which has seen a fall in production fal by 500k bpd, this is already leading to rising gas prices in the USA, which look set to accelerate in the coming months.

On the Education front, several articles were published both from a technical and from a psychological perspective. The two that stand out the most are - Trading Doctor - When it All Falls Apart - Coping with Losses and The Secret to Successful Trading - Using Rules to Time Your Entry

Make sure to visit the site regularly for the latest analysis on the direction of the stock market this coming week, especially as the next leg of the China Mini-Crash, could just be around the corner.

Profitable investing & trading for the coming week.

By Nadeem Walayat
Editor, The Market Oracle

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