Dartline™ First Look – morning directional planner
March 19, 2010, 7:00 am EDT — … The Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures down 0.60 to 11661.20, while the FTSE 100 index of leading British shares was up 41.26 points, or 0.7 percent, at 5,683.88, Germany’s DAX rose 24.89 points, or 0.4 percent, to 6,037.20 and CAC-40 in France was 17.16 points, or 0.4 percent, higher at 3,955.34. Earlier in Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 stock average reversed early losses to climb 80.69 points, or 0.8 percent, to 10,824.72. South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.7 percent to 1,686.11 and Hong Kong’s market rose 0.2 percent to 21,370.82. Elsewhere, Shanghai’s market added 0.7 percent, Australia’s index ticked 0.2 percent higher and Taiwan’s market rose 0.2 percent. Oil prices were lower, with the benchmark contract shedding 57 cents to $81.63 a barrel. The contract lost 73 cents overnight. … High-income families would be hit with a tax increase on wages and a new levy on investments under President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul bill. For the first time, the Medicare payroll tax would be applied to investment income, beginning in 2013. A new 3.8 percent tax would be imposed on interest, dividends, capital gains and other investment income for individuals making more than $200,000 a year and couples making more than $250,000. … — Maintain S&P 500 index resistance to 1197.30 and support to 1127.40 from 1102.80. As predicted yesterday, ” … intra-day consolidation” took place ” while near term direction remains up.” Don’t fight the tape … Weak dollar, low interest rates and positive noise that less bad is good are conspiring to make stocks look cheap.