Day Traders Diary
2/17/12
U.S. stocks opened with marginal gains on Friday on hope Greece would get another round of rescue funds after a meeting of European finance ministers early next week. And U.S. economic data supported the Federal Reserve's view that inflation remains in check. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 28 points to 12,932. The S&P 500 gained 3 points to 1,361. The Nasdaq Composite fell 4 points to 2,955. After such a phenomenal rally yesterday, it may be hard for the major averages to break about 13,000 in the Dow and 3000 in the Nasdaq today. The earnings keep coming in better than expected. In the tech space Applied Materials and Baidu.com are higher thanks to earnings. Apple continues its' bounce from Wednesdays' sell off. Another analyst upgraded the stock with a $570 price target. The chip stocks look good. Arm Holding is higher on an upgrade. Intel broke out to a new 52 week high. Dell is modestly lower on a downgrade. The financials continue to shine. Northstar Realty is higher following earnings. Bank of America is one of few financials lower. The rest of the sectors are mixed. In the retail space K-Swiss, Nordstrom, and General Mills are lower following earnings and or lowered guidance. Heinz, Pilgrim Pride, Finish Line, and Campbell Soup are higher on earnings. The energy space is modestly higher. Chesapeake Energy is jumping 3% on earnings. Suncor is higher thanks to an upgrade. Through the first hour the Dow crept a little higher as the Nasdaq remained in the red. A number of techs have sold off except for Apple. The dog of the day goes to Gilead Sciences down 15% after the biotech company reported disappointing results from a study for its experimental hepatitis C drug. Through the morning into the afternoon more of the same. The Dow held up well as the Nasdaq remained stuck in the red. The price of oil remains stubbornly high at a 9 month high hurting the transports and the transportation average. In the last hour the averages crept higher with the Dow nudging toward 13,000. The Nasdaq still remains struck in the red. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 45 points at 12,949, its highest close since May 19, 2008. The blue chips gained 1.2% on the week. The S&P 500 Index added 3 points to 1,361, a weekly rise of 1.4%. The Nasdaq Composite fell 8 points to 2,951, leaving it 1.7% ahead of last Friday's close.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.