John Augustine

Big institutions are holding back their own capital. They're looking for an upside catalyst for stock prices. Any activity on read more

Big institutions are holding back their own capital. They're looking for an upside catalyst for stock prices. Any activity on the mergers and acquisition, buy-back or dividend fronts, mixed with good news out of energy or the Fed, would be a catalyst to bring the big institutions back into stock market.

We could be into mid-July until we see the Dow break that record. It may take another round of earnings read more

We could be into mid-July until we see the Dow break that record. It may take another round of earnings to give it that push.

There are fears that any supply disruptions could disturb oil markets and such concerns are holding back both economic growth read more

There are fears that any supply disruptions could disturb oil markets and such concerns are holding back both economic growth and stock prices. In the absence of any such disruptions, we expect that crude will stay in the $50-$70 range this year and will likely always be on investors' minds.

Energy is going to catch the attention of the market. It's probably a force that's not going to leave because read more

Energy is going to catch the attention of the market. It's probably a force that's not going to leave because we're in transition from concern about oil to concerns about natural gas and how that will affect consumer spending as we head into winter.

Earnings are driving the testing of the top end for the S&P 500, but geopolitical issues are here to stay read more

Earnings are driving the testing of the top end for the S&P 500, but geopolitical issues are here to stay for some time. That will put downward pressure on the stock market.