Day Traders Diary
9/29/11
U.S. stocks jumped higher on Thursday after German lawmakers voted for new powers for the euro-zone's crisis fund and U.S. economic reports came in better than anticipated. The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 219 points to 11,230. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index added 20 points to 1,171. The Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 40 points to 2,531. A nice snap back from yesterday's sell off. The financials are in the lead thanks to a rebound in the European banks. The techs also look good even though AMD lowered estimates last night. The stock is trading down 10%, but the rest of the chips are holding up. Qualcomm is up 2% thanks to an upgrade. Dell is higher as well on an upgrade. HP is higher on speculation that activist investors are circling the firm. Nokia is cutting jobs, but the stock is up 4%. After the first half an hour the rally started to fizzle as the commodity space moved into the red. The fertilizers are weak following disappointing earnings at Mosaic. That stock is down 7% at a new 52 week low. Cliffs Natural Resources is down 5% this morning at a new 52 week low and now down nearly 50% since July. A wild ride. A number of techs have also dropped into the red like Apple, Google, and Research in Motion. Following the first hour the Nasdaq was in the red while the Dow is still up triple digits. Through the morning the Dow remained strong with only Alcoa in the red. In the afternoon the rally fizzled as the Dow gave up more of its gains and the Nasdaq fell into the red. The strongest sectors are the financials, insurance, and REITS. By the middle of the afternoon the Nasdaq fell as much as 57 points while the Dow fell into the red by as much as 45 points. Everyone seems to be bearish. Ironically, the financials remain in the green. In the last hour the averages battled back with the Dow moving back into the green. The rally accelerated into the close. After rising as much as 260 points and falling 45 points, the Dow Jones Industrial Average ended up 143 points, or 1.3%, at 11,153, led by Travelers, Bank of America, and J.P. Morgan Chase. The S&P 500 ended up 9 points at 1,160. The Nasdaq Composite fell 10 points to 2,480.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.