Day Traders Diary

8/12/11

U.S. stocks opened with robust gains on Friday after an encouraging report on retail sales in July bolstered sentiment ahead of consumer-confidence data. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 126 points to 11,117. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index climbed 12 points to 1,185. The Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 15 points to 2,508. So far so good this morning. It's good to have two up openings back to back. On the earnings front, rare earth metal Molycorp is jumping 14% thanks to strong earnings. Chipmaker, Nvidia is jumping 10% following strong earnings. The other chips, however, are not participating. HP is up 2% on an upgrade. Akamai Tech was upgraded, but the stock is lower. In the retail space, things are mixed. JC Penney is trading lower following earnings. Nordstrom and Red Robin Gourmet are higher following earnings. Anheuser Busch is jumping 6% on an upgrade. At 10 o'clock, a weak consumer confidence number let the wind of the sails of this rally. The Nasdaq fell into the red and the Dow gave up most of their gains before rebounding. The commodities are holding steady. Through the morning the averages slowly improved picking up steam into the lunch hour. The Dow rose 160 points led by Boeing, Caterpillar, Disney, and Chevron. The financials are not participating. The Nasdaq rose 24 points. In the afternoon the averages moved sideways for the most part. Pretty boring day since we're used to 400 points swings the previous four days. In the last hour the averages held up closing about a percent below last Fridays' close. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 125 points, or 1.1%, at 11,269, losing 1.5% for the week. It was the fifth straight day of triple-digit point swings for the Dow, a feat not achieved since January 2010. The S&P 500 gained 6 points to 1,178, down 1.7% for the week. The Nasdaq Composite advanced 15 points to 2,507, off 1% for the week. What a week. One I'm not ready to repeat anytime soon.

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.