Move along, nothing to see here: Stocks keep rising as data falls short
Tuomas Kujansuu | E+ | Getty Images

Why are stocks still advancing, with such poor economic data? Though not all indices are up this week, the S&P 500 Index has a good shot at posting three up weeks. Most of the disappointing macroeconomic data is getting a pass due to weather. Plenty of traders mentioned the the positive data from Markit on flash U.S. manufacturing was the reason the market held up yesterday. One thing's for sure: much of the market leadership is in speculative technology stocks. I mean Priceline , Google , Linkedin , Netflix , Tesla , Facebook , even Workday is where large amounts of the trading action is. So far, no one wants to sell on up days, while buying is restricted on down days. We'll see how long that lasts.

Elsewhere

1) Biotech/medical initial public offering (IPO) mania may be waning. Last night, Semler Scientific (SMLR), which does blood flow measurement tests in-office, priced 1.4 million shares—more than expected—at $7, but it was below the price talk of $7.50-$9.50. This company was supposed to go public last week, but was delayed until this week. There were six biotech/medical IPOs last week, and as you can see their reception in the market has been decidedly mixed: company ( percent change from offering price) Amedica (AMDA) up 23% Flexion Tehrapeutics (FLXN) up 14% Concert Pharmaceuticals (CNCE) flat Inogen (INGN) down 3% Nephrogenex (NRX) down 7% Eagle Pharmaecuticals (EGRX) down 22% This doesn't mean the IPO market is slowing, but after a year of intense biotech offerings, it's not surprising if we see a slowdown.





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