Day Traders Diary
9/19/11
U.S. stocks open sharply lower for the first down day in six, weighed by indications Greece was on the brink of default. The Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbled 165 points, or 1.4%, to 11,440. The S&P 500 lost 17 points, or 1.4%, to 1,199. The Nasdaq Composite fell 24 points, or 1.6%, to 2,580. The markets are concerned that a Greek default looks to be imminent causing all the major banks to move lower. The European banks likes Deutsche Bank, UBS, and Credit Suisse are all lower by 3% or more. Our banks are not fairing too much better with the major banks down 2 to 3% each. Stifel made positive comments on Capital One, yet the stock is lower by 2%. The insurance stocks are getting hit as well. The commodities are also taking it on the chin due to fears of an economic slowdown. Suncor Energy was upgraded, but the stock is lower by 4%. The techs performed well last week however they're getting hit this morning. The chips in particular rallied nicely last week. FBR analyst made positive comments on the sector. Micron and Broadcom were upgraded this morning, yet they are all trading lower. Oracle and Juniper Networks are lower on downgrades. Through the first hour the averages pushed lower with the Dow dropping 230 points and the Nasdaq declining 50 points. Both averages are lower by 2%. A few bright spots this morning with Goodrich is jumping 12% on rumors United Tech is close to acquiring the firm. Bristol Myers is up half a percent on an upgrade. The housing numbers out this morning were awful, but for some reason Lennar is trading up 3%. Netflix is bouncing back 4% after getting hit last week. Through the morning the averages remained weak near the lows of the day. President Obama spoke to hike taxes on the rich to pay for his stimulus plan, but the markets are not reacting. A couple of bright spots in the tech space. Amazon is trading at a new 52 week high. Apple looks great rebounding into the green making a new 52 week and all time high. Apple is working, at the expense of pretty much everyone else. A few other stocks are trading in the green including GM, Dunkin Donuts, and Pimco High Yield Closed end Bond Fund. In the last hour comments out of Europe that Greece may get more money from the EU to avoid a default brought a nice short cover rally to the markets. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished down 108 points at 11,401. At its lows, the Dow was down nearly 254 points. The S&P 500 lost 11 points, or 1%, to 1,204. The Nasdaq Composite fell 9 points to 2,612.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.