Stock Investing 101

March will be the last month of the 1st quarter of 2010, this will be a pretty big deal for the stock market. This will also mean that there will be no companies announcing their earnings this month. Most companies will announce their 1st quarter results in April and May.

Nevertheless March will be a very important month for the stock market. January and February have been up and down for the stock market. The Dow Jones began the year at 10,583 and is currently at 10,402. A drop of less than 200 points in almost two months means little. The stock market has been essentially flat this year so far. March is the month that will likely set the tone for the rest of the year. If March is a strong month with a 500+ point gain in the Dow Jones index then this year will be looking like a winner for investors. Also the opposite could happen and the Dow Jones could dip back to the 4 digit range and everyone could act like the sky was falling again.

The stock market has had a huge run up the last 12 months. In March of 2009 the Dow Jones index was in the 6 thousands, now the Dow is over 10,000. The stock market looked bleak a year ago but that ended up being the best time to buy for the long term. I think that the stock market is fairly valued at 10,500 currently but Wall Street does not always agree with me . March of 2010 will be a big month, buckle your seatbelts!