Day Traders Diary

1/6/12

U.S. stocks opened mixed to mildly lower on Friday, with the better-than-expected December payrolls report getting a muted response from Wall Street. "Expectations were raised after the ADP number yesterday, and eyes are still on Europe" and the possible global impact of the region's debt troubles, said Brad Sorensen, an analyst at the Schwab Center for Financial Research. "Add all that up and it leads to a tepid reaction." The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 16 points to 12,398. The S&P 500 Index inched up a point to1,279. The Nasdaq Composite rose a point to 2,670. Shortly after the open the averages pushed lower as the European concerns are trumping the better than expected US employment data. The financials are once again trading sharply lower due to the European crisis. Goldman and Morgan Stanley are lower after having their estimates cut. The energy and materials are getting hit once again. Alcoa is down 3% after announcing capacity cuts. Rare earth producer, Molycorp is jumping 5% on an upgrade. Cliffs Natural Resources is also higher on an upgrade. The techs are mixed this morning. RF Micro Devices is down 20% after warning on their quarter. ARM Holding and Intel are lower on downgrades. Apple, Sandisk, and F5 Networks are higher on upgrades. The retail sector is bouncing back after getting hit yesterday. Krispy Kreme, Kohls, FedEx, and JC Penney are higher on upgrades. Best Buy is modestly higher after reaffirming earnings. Childrens Place is lower on a downgrade. Through the first hour the Dow dropped over 80 points while the Nasdaq declined 12 points. After the first hour the averages slowly improved, similar to yesterday, thanks to the techs and financials. The consumer discretionary sector is performing well after getting hit yesterday. Through the morning and into the afternoon the Dow remained in the red down around 40 points. The Nasdaq held on to modest gains. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished down 55 points to 12,359, but added 1.2% for the week, which was shortened by Monday's New Year's Day holiday. The S&P 500 slid 3 points to 1,277, advancing 1.6% for the week. The Nasdaq Composite rose 4 points to 2,674, jumping 2.7% for the week.

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