Jim Cramer Blog

The last session of 2006 ends quietly, but the major market indices saw solid gains during the year. On Friday, the Dow ($INDU) ended the session with a loss of 38.37 points to close at 12,463.15. The S&P 500 ($SPX) fell 5.43 points to 1,418.30. The NASDAQ ($COMPQ) gave up 10.28 points to close at 2,415.29. Volume was light with the NYSE trading 1.01 billion shares and the Naz turning over 1.38 billion shares. Market breadth was negative by a 13-to-21 and 13-to-19 margin on the Big Board and Naz respectively.A lack of volume and very little tradable news kept stocks down Friday. However, 2006 finished with some very strong results. The Dow tacked on 16.29 percent, the SPX added 13.62 percent and the Naz was up 9.52 percent. The fact that the economy has remained solid despite a housing market slump and high prices is definitely bullish and this put traders in a buying mood. The last quarter of the year provided the bulk of the gains, mainly due to the fact that the Fed halted its string of interest rate hikes.Economic news on Friday was non-existent, which left traders with little news to trade on. Next week’s calendar will see some key reports, although the calendar remains light. However, the data will be crammed into three trading days due to the National Day of Mourning Tuesday in honor of President Gerald Ford’s death. All stock markets will be closed Tuesday as a result.Apple (AAPL) shares continued to get a lot of attention Friday, but this time the spotlight provided gains. AAPL shares added 4.91 percent to close at $84.84. The stock has struggled this week on option-related problems. An investigation into the company’s granting of options resulted in concerns there could be legal action. However, the company announced today that it would take an $84 million charge, but no current management, including Steve Jobs, will be indicted. Oil prices saw some gains Friday, which left crude prices basically flat on the year. Of course, there was a lot of volatility straddle between January and December. On the session, oil rose 52-cents to close at $61.05 a barrel. The high for the commodity came in mid-July when a barrel of oil cost almost $78. For the week, oil prices fell about 2.5 percent. Though we can expect some profit taking at some point, 2007 does look to be another strong year. Profits remain strong, the housing sector seems to be bottoming and inflation is moderating. Of course, there are always wild cards that provide volatility, but the bulls have to be please with 2006 and optimistic for 2007. Jody Osborne

Labels: AAPL