Day Traders Diary

5/26/11

U.S. stocks opened lower Thursday after reports on initial jobless claims and first-quarter economic growth showed the U.S. economy is on shaky ground. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 27 points to 12,365, weighed down by Merck, Travelers, and Caterpillar. The S&P 500 fell 2 points to 1,317 with all 10 sectors lower. The Nasdaq Composite lost a point to 2,759. In the retail space, solid earnings are lifting a number of stocks for the second straight day. Guess is jumping 11% after beating estimates and raising guidance. Tiffany is also performing great, trading up 8% after beating estimates and raising guidance. Heinz and Genesco are also higher following earnings. Tupperware and Polo are higher on upgrades. American Eagle was downgraded, but the stock is modestly higher. The commodities are the one sector holding up the best. Freeport and Cliffs Natural Resources are modestly higher. The oils for the most part are higher as well. In the tech sector NetApp looks good after beating earnings estimates. Oracle is higher on an upgrade. Microsoft is higher due to rumblings from at least one hedge fund demanding a new CEO. One IPO in the tech space Freescale Semi is trading higher. During the first hour the US dollar rebounded causing the Dow to sink. The Dow dropped 60 points while the Nasdaq is holding up near the unchanged level. A number of retailers and commodities remain in the green. Through the morning the US dollar remained elevated preventing the major averages from rallying. During the lunch hour the averages perked up reaching the unchanged level. Through the afternoon the averages continued to improve. Even the financials look good. Go figure. In the last hour, similar to yesterday, the rally in the Dow fizzled. The Nasdaq actually held up well. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 8 points at 12,402 with percent gainers led by a 2% rally in Microsoft shares. The S&P 500 gained 5 points to 1,325, led by a 0.8% advance in the consumer discretionary sector. The Nasdaq Composite added 21 points to 2,782.

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