The American Markets

There was certainly no shortage of bad news last week. If it wasn't Intel (INTC) providing negative guidance and casting a shadow on tech stocks, it was Helicopter Ben pointing out the obvious, but unpleasant, fact that the U.S. economy isn't in the pink. Of course, the real story this week was the bond insurers being downgraded and losing heaps of green. Ambac (ABK) lost 71.47% of it's market cap this week. Ouch! MBIA's (MBI) 48% drubbing almost looks tame by comparison.

The major U.S. indexes reacted poorly and they all finished in the red. The Dow closed the week at 12,099 for a weekly loss of about 4%. The Dow has lost 8.66% for the year and is trading 7.7% below its' 50-day moving average and 9.5% below it's 200-day.

The Nasdaq 100 also lost about 4% on the week and 11.5% on the year to close at 1,844. It's now trading roughly 9.5% below its' 50-day and about 7.5% below its' 200-day.

The S&P 500 was the big loser for the week shedding 5.4% to finish at 1,325 down 9.74% for the year. That's 8.5% below its' 50-day moving average and 11% below its' 200-day.

The Canadian Markets

Not to be outdone, the TSX (Toronto Stock Exchange) plummetted 6.5% on the week to finish at 12,737. It's down 8.25% for the year. While not as oversold as its' American counterparts, the TSX is trading about 6.3% below its' 50-day moving average and 7.8% below its' 200-day.

The gold and energy stocks decided to join the party. The S&P/TSX Energy Index (XEG.TO) got hammered for a 7.8% loss. Dropping oil prices and fears of a looming recession in the United States were the rumoured culprits. The S&P/TSX Gold Index (XGD.TO) also got creamed for a 7.4% loss on the week as bullion pulled back from its' recent highs.

The uranium stocks were particularly hard hit. Uranium One (UUU.TO) lost 13.7% for the week. The more speculative issues fell even further with Mega Uranium (MGA.TO) losing over 24% and Laramide (LAM.TO) giving up more than 25%. This could present some interesting entry points.

My Stokblogs Portfolio

I closed out my short position on the Nasdaq 100 (QID) this week. The Nasdaq 100 has fallen about 17.5% from its' October peak and about 14% over the last month. I don't believe for a second that the stock market is a one-way street. A bounce will come and present a better entry point later on.

On the long side, the uranium stocks mentioned above are looking cheap. Uranium One is down about 57% from its' April high. There might be one more shake out, but it seems most of the weak hands have left the stock. Mega and Laramide are both down 74% from their April highs. I like the uranium story and if the markets bounce, these should benefit. I'll probably take a position in a couple of these soon.

SunTzu