Day Traders Diary

8/25/11

The major averages got a shot in the arm thanks to Warren Buffett's company Berkshire Hathaway deciding to invest $5 billion in Bank of America. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 69 points to 11,390. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index climbed 8 points to 1,185. The Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 8 points to 2,475. Bank of the America is leading the charge for a second straight day, up 20% thanks to Warren Buffett giving the bank the seal of approval. All the financials are higher. JP Morgan, Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs, and US Bancorp are all up 4%. The insurance stocks are also trading higher even though Hurricane Irene is bearing down on the east coast. MetLife was downgraded, but the stock is higher by 2%. In the tech space, a sad day for Apple as Steve Jobs officially steps down as CEO. The stock is down a percent. Applied Materials is down 2% following earnings. IBM and F5 Networks are higher on upgrades. AMD is up 5% after announcing a new CEO. The commodities look good this morning even though the margin requirements for gold were raised once again. In the retail space Hormel Foods, Guess, and Brown Shoe are lower on downgrades. Sanderson Farms is up 3% even though they missed estimates. Big Lots, Toro, and Diageo are higher on earnings. After the first half an hour the averages sold off. The financials remain strong, but everything else has sold off. Through the morning and into the lunch hour the selling accelerated. Even the financials went into the red led by the insurance stocks. Ugly market. By 1 o'clock, the Nasdaq fell 50 points and the Dow dropped 180 points. The only Dow component trading higher is Bank of America. In the last hour the averages tried to rally only to give up its' gains into the close. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished down 170 points, or 1.5%, at 11,149. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index shed 18 points, or 1.6%, to 1,159. The Nasdaq Composite Index declined 48 points, or 2%, to 2,419.

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.