Day Traders Diary
9/15/11
U.S. stocks opened strongly higher on Thursday, extending gains into a fourth day, after the European Central Bank said it was coordinating with the Federal Reserve and other central banks. The ECB news helped offset disappointing U.S. economic data. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 82 points to 11,328. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index rose 9 points to 1,198. The Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 17 points to 2,589. Resilient market this week for a change. The major averages push higher once again led by techs and chip stocks. Intel is up 2% after pricing $5 billion in bond notes taking advantage of the low rates. The chip techs like Microsoft, Google, Apple, and Cisco Systems are all trading higher. The financials are modestly higher. Goldman Sachs was downgraded, but the stock is higher. Allstate is higher after disclosing their Hurricane Irene losses which wasn't as bad as anticipated. All the insurance stocks are higher. The commodity stocks opened higher, but then sold off. Steelmaker, Nucor lowered guidance, but the stock is higher by 2%. Most stocks lowering guidance are actually rallying following the disappointing news. That's a good sign. Kodiak Oil & Gas and Arch Coal are up over 3% on upgrades. During the first hour the Dow rallied as much as 150 points before pulling back. The Nasdaq rallied as much as 27 points before pulling back. Through the morning, similar to yesterday, the averages battle back led by techs. The commodities are back in the green and the financials are showing a little life. The dog of the day goes to Netflix down 12% after lowering guidance. A highflier when they miss guidance is never a pretty picture. In the afternoon the averages rebounded with the Dow rising 130 points. The Nasdaq improved by 25 points. Encouraging comments out of Europe regarding some progress toward providing solutions and back up plans for the banking and credit crisis is lending support to the averages. In the last hour the averages kept rallying. It's been a good week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 186 points, or 1.7%, at 11,433, less than a point shy of its session peak of 11,433. The S&P 500 gained 20 points, or 1.7%, to 1,209. Rallies financial and energy sectors led gains for all 10 industry groups. The Nasdaq Composite, which had turned negative mid-morning, ended up 34 points, or 1.3%, at 2,607.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.