Day Traders Diary

1/2/09

It's the start of a new year and no one seems interested. The Dow Jones Industrial Average opened up 32 points at 8,809. The S&P 500 gained 2 points to 905, while the Nasdaq Composite rose a point to 1,578. 2009 starts with a few less financials. Merrill Lynch and Wachovia have ceased to trade, merging with their respective parties. The other financials are quiet along with the rest of the market. The commodity stocks are modestly positive even though oil is lower. Gold is also lower as the U.S. dollar rallies. The chip stocks are quiet as industry data shows sales were down 10% in November. Apple is higher on an upgrade plus competitor Research in Motion is having problems with their new smart phone called, Bold. Research in Motion is only modestly lower. It took less than half an hour for the Dow to fall into the red. 2009 is looking a lot like 2008. After the first hour, the averages were back in the green. There are some bulls out there. Through the morning the averages improved. The Dow rose as much as 140 points. The Nasdaq improved by 25 points. Most stocks are higher except for a few select financials including Bank of America, Goldman, Wells Fargo, and JP Morgan. Barclays is down 6%. Oil has had a nice turn around from down $3 to up a buck. In the afternoon the averages remained strong. Entering the last hour the Dow topped 200 points hitting 9,000 once again. The Nasdaq rose 50 points. The January effect is in effect. In the last hour the averages remained remained near the highs of the day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 258 points, or 2.9%, at 9,034, giving the blue-chip index a gain of 6.1% for the week. The S&P 500 climbed 28 points, or 3.2%, to end at 931, up 6.8% for the week. The Nasdaq Composite advanced 55 points, or 3.5%, to finish at 1,632, leaving the technology-laden index a 6.7% gain on the week.

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