Day Traders Diary
12/8/11
U.S. stocks opened with moderate losses on Thursday after European Central Bank President Mario Draghi threw cold water on thinking the central bank would boost its purchases of the debt of hard-pressed European nations. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 25 points to 12,170. The S&P 500 lost 6 points to 1,254. The Nasdaq Composite declined 10 points to 2,638. This market is all about Europe. Premarket, the Dow was set to rally 80 points until the comments from Mario Draghi reversed sentiment. The financials are in the lead, trading lower on the European comments. JP Morgan increased their share buyback, but the stock is lower. Visa and MasterCard are just two financials trading higher. In the tech space Google and Apple look good, but that's about it. Cree is down 4% on a downgrade. The cloud commuting space is holding in there on news IBM is buying a small player in the sector. Goldman Sachs is making news in the oil space downgrading Transocean and Diamond Offshore. Both stocks are down over 2%. Rowan, Noble, and Ensco are lower on neutral ratings. Baker Hughes and Weatherford International are modestly higher. In the retail space, Smithfield Foods is down 3% even though they beat estimates. Costco is also lower following earnings. Pacific Sunwear is higher following earnings. Through the first hour the Dow pushed lower falling 85 points while the Nasdaq sank 23 points. No buyers as long as the European Union won't cooperate. Through the morning and into the afternoon the averages moved lower with the Dow dropping over 150 points and the Nasdaq declining over 40 points. McDonalds is the diamond of the day within the Dow up a percent at a new all time high thanks to strong monthly sales numbers. Apple remains a diamond with the Nasdaq and that's about it. Most sectors are witnessing a sharp sell off including the financials and energy space. How tough is this market? Ford initiated a dividend for the first time in 5 years, yet the stock is still lower. Frustrating. Through the afternoon the Dow dropped nearly 200 points before rebounding in the last hour on rumors of more bailout talk in Europe. However The rumors were discredited and the averages pushed lower once again. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished down 198 points at 11,997. The S&P 500 declined 26 points, or 2.1%, to 1,234. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 52 points, or 2%, to 2,596.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.