About Those Efficient Markets

One more time the equity market does an about face from after spending most of the session in negative territory (after a dismal performance yesterday) as of 3:15pm EDT it looked like losing session again.   Even the mighty iPhone couldn't save the market this time.  Allegedly investors (that catch-all phrase for anyone daring to buy shares) had decided that the economy was slowing down, Europe had too much debt and Bernanke is out of bullets.  Financial journalists ready for happy hour, had already written their negative wrap up pieces....

And then, out of nowhere, like the cavalry in those politically incorrect westerns, came the rally.

What is a financial journalists to do? Well, look for facts to justify the move, naturally.

So our friends at Bloomberg produced a quick piece that explains why stocks went up.  It says about some guys in Europe who are beginning to consider the possibility that one day they may try a solution for their under-capitalized banks (why they probably will not implement until they run of all other options.)  Hey, it's a story.

In order to make it credible, one can always add the all-purpose bargain hunting to the explanation.

"...valuations at the cheapest level since 2009 lured investors..." [which apparently all waited until 3:15pm and didn't bother to keep buying at higher valuations?]

 The most likely scenario is that the market just corrected from an oversold (i.e. too many sellers at once) condition.  Sadly, that story, however true it might be, not only doesn't excite anyone but also discredits the markets as illogical.   See below the 2-day chart for yourself and decide.