Day Traders Diary
12/20/11
U.S. stocks surged at the open Tuesday, supported by a better Spanish bond auction, data showing an improvement in the German economic outlook and a jump in U.S. housing starts. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rallied 218 points, or 1.9%, to 11,984. Cisco led gains for all 30 Dow components. The S&P 500 advanced 20 points, or 1.7%, to 1,225. The Nasdaq Composite rose 49 points, or nearly 2%, to 2,672. Up, up, and away. The major averages are surging this morning as news out Europe has subsided for the day. Sound familiar? Every major sector is acting great as 99% of the S&P 500 is trading higher. The techs are performing well. Micron, Sandisk, KLA-Tencor, and F5 Networks are trading up 4% or better on upgrades. Novellus is up 3% on a downgrade. Red Hat is one of the few techs lower by 9% on disappointing earnings. Research in Motion is down a percent at a new 52 week low. The financials are higher after getting pummeled once again. Jefferies is up 8% following better than expected earnings. The energy, material, and industrials are all performing great. Plenty of news in the retail space. Urban Outfitter and Chipotle Mexican Grill are up 3% on upgrades. CVS Caremark is up 6% after having their dividend hiked by 30%. ConAgra and Navistar are higher by 5% on better than expected earnings. A couple stocks Sanderson Farms and Carnival are lower on earnings. Through the first hour the Dow rose 250 points while the Nasdaq rose 55 points. Through the morning the averages crept higher. It's an all or nothing market. In the afternoon more of the same. The Dow remained up over 300 points as every Dow component is higher. The Nasdaq is up 77 points. The culprit for the big rally is a dramatic decline in bond yields in Spain and other parts of Europe. In fact, the 3 month Spanish bond yield has dropped from 5.22% a month ago to less than 2% today. That's a multi-year rally in just one month. U.S. stocks surged 3% Tuesday, posting their best day of the month amid low volumes. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 337 points, or 2.9%, to 12,103. The S&P 500 added 35 points, or 3%, to 1,241, led by rallying financials. The Nasdaq Composite gained 80 points, or 3.2%, to 2,603.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.