Day Traders Diary
2/28/11
U.S. stocks opened higher on Monday as no further unrest in the Middle East allowed the price of oil to decline this morning. A Federal Reserve official is also lending support offering an optimistic take on the recovery. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 52 points to 12,182. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index rose 6 points to 1,326. The Nasdaq Composite added 15 points to 2,796. Investors fearing more conflicts in the Middle East over the weekend are covering their shorts this morning. Most sectors are trading higher as the bulls come back to the markets. Berkshire Hathaway is up nearly 2% after reporting earnings over the weekend. Edison International is also following earnings. Plenty of upgrades this morning. In the tech sector Jabil Circuit is up 3% on an upgrade. Apple is moving back toward its 52 week high thanks to multiple positive analyst comments. Dell, Research in Motion, and Corning also look good this morning. In the commodity space the fertilizers continue their rebound. Potash is up 2% on an upgrade. Nucor is up 2% on an upgrade. Copper and iron ore plays look good. Oil driller plays for the most part are lower as oil pulls back. Transocean is lower on a downgrade. The financials are modestly higher. HSBC is one of the few banks lower following earnings this morning. After the first half an hour the averages kept pushing higher with the Dow jumping 90 points and the Nasdaq rising 14 points. The bulls are back in charge. Through the morning the averages remained strong. During the lunch hour the Nasdaq gave up its' gains. Only Apple, Corning, and Google are still in the green. The Dow is giving up some of its gains. 3M is the strongest Dow component up 2% thanks to a positive Barrons cover article. Through the afternoon the Dow drifted lower only to rally once again into the last hour. The oil drillers reversed course, rallying once Noble Energy received a drilling contract in the Gulf of Mexico. The Dow Industrials finished up an impressive 95 points or 0.8% at 12,226. The Dow rallied 2.8% for the month. The S&P 500 index rose 7 points to 1,327 today and rallied 3.2% for the month. The Nasdaq Composite index inched up a point to 2782, rallying 3% for the month. The major averages are up five of the last six months for a return of 26% since September 1st. I wish it was that easy all the time.All comments contained herein are for informational purposes only, and should not be considered as a solicitation to buy or sell any security. The firm does not guarantee the accuracy or completeness of the information or make any warranties regarding results from it's usage.