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  • ASX 200

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STOCKS GO NOWHERE: Here's What You Need To Know

Stocks didn't move much. But they didn't sell off either. Is that a bad thing?

First the scoreboard:

Dow: 13,973, -9.5, -0.0 percent
S&P 500: 1,521, +1.0, +0.0 percent
NASDAQ: 3,198, +1.7, +0.0 percent

And now the top stories:

  • The conditions for a sell-off were certainly in place. Before U.S. markets opened, we got GDP reports from Japan and Europe. Both showed declining growth. And both reports were worse than expected. Here Are 18 Scary Charts That Show The Real Crisis In Europe >

  • The economic data out of the U.S. was a bit more encouraging. Initial weekly jobless claims fell to 341k, which was way below the 365k economists were looking for.

  • In M&A news, Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway and 3G Capital announced that it would acquire ketchup conglomerate HJ Heinz Company. The group offered a steep 20 percent premium to shareholders.

  • So what are we to make of this bull market, which sits near 5-year highs? Citi's Tobias Levkovich warns that sentiment may be reaching dangerously high levels. "The Panic/Euphoria Model has spiked to near its highs over the past three years, suggesting frothy levels have ensued," writes Citi's Tobias Levkovich. "While a variety of other factors are constructive for equity indices, this proprietary gauge is starting to get perilously close to euphoria, cutting above the complacency readings seen in April/May 2012. In the past, when the model reached such levels, the equity markets experienced some modest consolidation."

  • Veteran hedge fund manager Felix Zulauf is also worried. He's particularly concerned about the lack of sell-offs in this bull run. "If the markets do not correct as I expect some time in spring, if the markets would continue to go up, and not be confirmed by internal technicals, then it gets very, very dangerous," said Zulauf in an interview with King World News. "Then we would resemble much more a market situation that has some similarities to 1987 ... I’m just saying we are in dangerous territory, and people should be aware of that and take precautionary steps."

  • Don't Miss: The Secret Trading Strategy From The 1930s That Hedge Funders Don't Want You To Know About >

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