Day Traders Diary
9/26/11
U.S. stocks opened higher early Monday as hopes for expansion in the euro-zone bailout program and strong gains for European markets helped provide an early lift. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.9%, or 94 points, to 10867. The S&P 500 index rose 8 points to 1,148 and the Nasdaq Composite rose 17 points to 2500. For once the financials are in the lead as some progress is developing in Europe to tackle their credit crisis. All the European banks are performing well. UBS is up 3% as their CEO is stepping down after a rogue broker lost $2 billion. The big US money center banks look good. Berkshire Hathaway's stock jumped 5.6% after the company announced its' first ever share buyback plan. The techs opened higher, but sold following the open led by Apple. Apple is down 2% on rumors of production cuts for their Ipads. The rumors are hurting all the tech stocks. The commodities are also taking it on the chin. Mosaic is down 5% after announcing a secondary offering. All the fertilizers are lower along with most commodity stocks. Through the first hour the averages gave up a majority of their gains. After the first hour the Dow rebounded rallying 100 points, but the breath of the market is getting worse. Through the morning and into the lunch hour the Dow remained in the green, but the broader market is not performing as well. By the middle of the afternoon the Dow received an added boost from comments out of Europe regarding a plan to save the banks from their credit crisis. One sector that continues to perform well irrespective of the European problems is the retail sector. Macys is higher on news they will aggressively hire more seasonal people for the holidays. American Eagle is up 8% on insider buying. Finish Line is up on positive analyst comments. In the last hour the rally accelerated its' gains on optimism that Europe will finally get its' act together. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 272 points, or 2.5%, at 11,043, led by a nearly 7% surge in the shares of J.P. Morgan Chase and a 4.6% rally in Bank of America's shares. The S&P 500 ended up 26 points, or 2.3%, at 1,162, led by a 4.4% rally in financial stocks. The Nasdaq Composite gained 33 points, or 1.4%, to 2,516.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.