Day Traders Diary
8/17/11
U.S. stocks opened mostly higher on Wednesday as earnings from Target and Staples topped expectations, while personal-computer maker Dell lowered its revenue outlook, hitting technology stocks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 60 points to 11,466. The Standard & Poor's 500 gained 8 points to 1,201. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 6 points to 2,529. Everything looks good except for Dell. Dell is trading down 8% due to slowing sales even though the company continues to make a lot of money. HP is down 2% in sympathy as they will report earnings tomorrow. The stock was downgraded along with Microsoft which is lower. Intel also opened lower, but rebounded. Analog Devices looks good following solid earnings last night. The rest of the techs look good. Eastman Kodak is up 20% on M&A speculation about their patents. Patents seem to be all the rage right now. The commodities are rebounding smartly this morning. Agrium opened lower on a downgraded, but rebounded into the green. Alcoa and Cliffs Natural Resources are higher on upgrades. In the retail space, Target is jumping 4% following earnings. Staples and Bob Evans are higher following earnings as well. Dicks Sporting Goods is up 2% on an upgrade. Chico's beat estimates, but the stock is lower. Deere beat estimates, but is trading lower. Abercrombie & Fitch beat estimates, but the stock is lower. Through the first hour the averages pushed higher with the Dow rising 100 points and the Nasdaq rising 20 points. Through the morning the averages lifted off the highs led by the techs as the volume dried up. The financials and the commodities remain firm. In the afternoon, the Nasdaq pushed lower with most techs in the red. The Dow is also in the red. By the middle of the afternoon the Dow fell as much as 80 points before slowly rebounding into the close. The Nasdaq dropped 30 points before paring its' losses. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 4 points at 11,410 with American Express leading percent gainers and Hewlett-Packard shares fronting decliners. The S&P 500 ended up a point at 1,193. Telecommunications were up the most and tech took the steepest drop, led by a 10% fall in Dell's shares. The Nasdaq Composite slid 11 points to 2,511.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.