The S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial average have dominated the news over the past several weeks because of volatile fluctuations in both indices since the U.K. Brexit vote, but today the NASDAQ took some of the stock headlines after posting a gain of over one percent. The Dow also closed with it’s 7th straight record closing session.

More from CNBC below.

Meanwhile, Marketwatch.com today had a report that had three different charts showing why the S&P 500 and the Dow are over valued.

“A number of analysts and strategists over the past few days are cautioning that worrisome trends are starting to crop up as equities take the escalator higher, pointing to a market that is getting overheated.”

Read the entire story here.

Here are the final numbers from Wednesday, July 20th on Wall Street:

Dow Jones Industrial Average: 18,595.03  (+36.02 / +0.19%)

NASDAQ: 5,089.93 (+53.56 / +1.06%)

S&P 500: 2,173.02  (+9.24/ +0.43%)

Markets are still at record highs (with the Dow hitting it’s 6th day of record closes) but a report today showed that there is more cash out of equities & on the sidelines than there has been in nearly 15 years. Fund managers have gotten spooked since the Brexit vote & are taking a more conservative approach as to where to place investor money. According to the latest Bank of America Merrill Lynch Fund Manager Cash Survey, cash levels are now at 5.8% of portfolios, up from June and at the highest levels since November 2001 as investors search for protection, hedging on their equities bets amid worries that global financial conditions are tightening around the world.  Read more here.

Meantime, following the Brexit vote a few weeks ago where voters in the United Kingdom decided that the U.K. will leave the European Union, the IMF (International Monetary Fund) downgraded it’s forecast of world markets for this year and next.

Maurice Obstfeld, Director of Research for the IMF, was asked what worries him most about the Brexit vote.

See his response below.

Here are the final numbers from Tuesday, July 19th on Wall Street:

Dow Jones Industrial Average: 18,559.01  (+25.96 / +0.14%)

NASDAQ: 5,036.37 (-19.41 / -0.38%)

S&P 500: 2,163.78  (-3.11/ -0.14%)

Another up day on Wall Street to start the new trading week.  Despite signals to the contrary, the market continues to baffle many experts who do not believe the bulls should be running.  Wall Street is on it’s way to three straight weeks of gains as the Dow and S&P 500 hit new all-time highs.  The Dow has now risen 7 straight days while The S&P capped three weeks of more than 1 percent gains.

Meantime, in a CNBC report today Eric Chemi addressed a concerning trend regarding “junk bonds.”  Chemi writes in today’s column:

Demand for high-yield bonds has surged this month as the stock market continues to climb. That’s in contrast to earlier this year, when investors were looking for value in safe, defensive positions. It has been a turbulent 2016 for the market. To start the year, investors moved into less risky stocks, like utilities and materials companies. Investors also pulled their money out of high-yield bond ETFs in recent months. But with a strong July on track to push the market even higher, riskier bonds are staging a comeback.”

Read the entire article here.

Why are riskier stocks becoming more common?  See below.

Here are the final numbers from Monday, 18th on Wall Street:

Dow Jones Industrial Average: 18,533.05  (+16.50 / +0.09%)

NASDAQ: 5,055.78 (+26.19 / +0.52%)

S&P 500: 2,166.89  (+5.15/ +0.24%)

After several bullish days of new record highs for the Dow and S&P 500, markets retreated somewhat today to catch their collective breaths with earnings reports filtering out. Wells Fargo reported results as expected, but Citigroup reported results that beat analysts’ expectations. Yesterday, JPMorgan Chase beat estimates and BlackRock posted results as expected.
Chad Morganlander, portfolio manager at Stifel Nicolaus said-

“Investors are not being blindsided by the earnings numbers from the big banks; that’s critical to keep volatility low and as low keep market sentiment stabilized. Financials have been reporting resilient earnings, which bodes well for the overall market.”

More on banks earnings reports from CNBC below.

Goldman Sachs and IBM contributed the most losses. Randy Warren, chief investment officer at Warren Financial told CNBC-

“It’s probably just a pause. We’re starting to get decent economic data and now it’s time for earnings to back that up.”

Here are the final numbers from Friday, July 15th on Wall Street:

Dow Jones Industrial Average: 18,516.55  (+10.14 / +0.05%)

NASDAQ: 5,029.59 (-4.47 / -0.09%)

S&P 500: 2,161.74  (-2.01/ -0.09%)

The Dow Jones Industrial average and S&P 500 are currently riding session highs, having set new records in each of the past three trading days.  However, Larry Fink, chairman and CEO of BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager told CNBC’s Squawk Box that there is NOT enough evidence to justify these record levels.  Fink said:

“I don’t think we have enough evidence to justify these levels in the equity market at this moment and that the recent rally has been supported by institutional investors covering shorts, or bets that stocks will fall, and not individual investors feeling bullish.”

Watch more below.

The Dow has now recorded its first 5 day winning streak since March as the Bank of England hinted at looser monetary policy next month and as earnings season kicked into full gear.

Here are the final numbers from Thursday, July 14th on Wall Street:

Dow Jones Industrial Average: 18,506.41  (+134.29 / +0.73%)

NASDAQ: 5,034.06 (+28.33 / +0.57%)

S&P 500: 2,163.75  (+11.32/ +0.53%)

Two and a half weeks ago the world markets were shaken by a decision from a majority of voters in the United Kingdom to leave the European Union.  Now the UK and much of the rest of the world (including the U.S.) at least for the time being, seem to have put their fears about a “U.K leave the E.U.” Brexit vote behind them. The Dow Jones industrial average and the S&P 500 both closed at record highs while the NASDAQ closed above the psychologically significant 2,000 mark.

Stock markets around the world have risen sharply, after a steep sell-off, following the United Kingdom’s decision to leave the E.U.
Robert Pavlik, chief market strategist at Boston Private Wealth told CNBC:

“I think people are getting more comfortable within the growth area of the market, and I definitely see more of a risk-on mentality. People are foregoing the yield plays for the growth parts of the market.”

David Kostin, Chief U.S. Equities Strategist for Goldman Sachs was asked if he still believes the markets are in for a fall anytime soon.

See his response below.

Here are the final numbers from Tuesday, July 12th on Wall Street:

Dow Jones Industrial Average: 18,347.67  (+120.74 / +0.66%)

NASDAQ: 5,022.82 (+34.18 / +0.69%)

S&P 500: 2,152.14  (+14.98/ +0.70%)

As the markets finished with gains across the board today, came news that should be very disheartening to women. According to The National Institute on Retirement Security, a nonprofit research center, women are 80 percent more likely than men to be face poverty at age 65 and older. Women age 75 to 79 are three times more likely.

Women are more likely to report that Social Security is the biggest source of income — 50 percent to 38 percent for men, according to a recent poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. Women are 14 percentage points less likely to say they will receive a pension. During their working years, women tend to earn less than men, and when they retire, they’re more likely to live in poverty. These are women who raised children and cared for sick and elderly family members, often taking what savings and income they do have and spending it on things besides their own retirement security.

Why do so many women who are 65 and older worry about retirement? See below.

ABC News reports that in 2016, the census poverty threshold for a single person is $11,880. According to UCLA’s Elder Index, a measure of the cost for housing, food, transport and health care, for a 65-year-old renter, the base cost pay for these needs is $24,024 and growing.

Here are the final numbers from Monday, July 11th on Wall Street:

Dow Jones Industrial Average: 18,226.93  (+80.19 / +0.44%)

NASDAQ: 4,988.64 (+31.88 / +0.64%)

S&P 500: 2,137.16  (+7.26/ +0.34%)

As markets struggled for a third straight trading day, (going back to last Friday) a Bank of America-Merrill Lynch Global Fund Manger Survey released today stated:

Fund managers’ cash levels are at their highest in nearly 15 years amid worries over a British exit from the European Union and the possibility that global monetary policy is failing. Allocation to equities hit a four-year low, though commodity allocation reached a 12-month high. Portfolios are at 5.7 percent cash, the highest level since November 2001 and “consistent with recession.”

Read more from CNBC here.

Brexit fears are making investors very nervous as to whether or not voters in the UK will decide on June 23rd to leave the European Union.

Watch more below.

Here are the final numbers from Tuesday, June 14th on Wall Street:

Dow Jones Industrial Average: 17,674.82  (-57.66 / -0.33%)

NASDAQ: 4,843.55 (-4.89/ -0.10%)

S&P 500: 2,075.32  (-3.74/ -0.18%)

The start of a fresh trading week on Wall Street meant stale results for the Dow and NASDAQ as the Dow Jones industrial average dropped by over 132 points in afternoon trading before settling at 17,732.   Visa, Microsoft and Apple were among the Dow’s biggest losers today.  The NASDAQ lost 1%.  There were two big focus points for investors that led to instability on the markets today:

• This week’s scheduled Fed meeting
• The upcoming U.K. (Brexit) vote on June 23rd on whether to leave the European Union.

Maris Ogg, president of Tower Bridge Advisors said:

“To me the worry is really low growth that gives you very little cushion and room for error.”

Meanwhile, a survey of 41 Wall Street analysts shows what experts believe to be, are the biggest threats to the U.S. economy.

Watch below.

Here are the final numbers from Monday, June 13th on Wall Street:

Dow Jones Industrial Average: 17,732.48  (-132.86 / -0.74%)

NASDAQ: 4,848.44 (-46.11/ -0.94%)

S&P 500: 2,079.06  (-17.01/ -0.81%)

On the last trading day of the week, Wall Street finished on a down note with all three major U.S. indices suffering substantial losses.

The main culprits:

• Worry over the “Brexit” vote
• Drop in price of oil
• Lag in financial stocks

In reference to a forthcoming “Brexit” vote later this month in Britain, (whether the UK should leave the European Union) results of a new poll conducted for ‘The Independent’ newspaper showed:

“55% of UK voters intend to vote for Britain to leave the EU in the June 23rd referendum”

The results of the poll only increase the fear among those who want to remain in the EU, that their campaign is losing ground among Labour Party supporters, who are seen as critical to securing victory for Britain to stay in the European Union.

To add insult to injury, one of the world’s most successful money managers delivered a new “economic warning to the world.”

Peter Schiff, who is the CEO of Euro Pacific Capital, appeared on CNBC earlier this week and warned that America will face an economic “currency crisis” that will be much bigger than any financial crisis.

Watch below.

Here are the final numbers from Friday, June 10th on Wall Street:

Dow Jones Industrial Average: 17,865.34  (-119.85 / -0.67%)

NASDAQ: 4,894.55 (-64.07/ -1.29%)

S&P 500: 2,096.07  (-19.41/ -0.92%)