Day Traders Diary
2/21/12
U.S. stocks opened higher Tuesday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average within 20 points of 13,000 after European finance ministers okayed a second rescue loan for Greece . The Dow industrials rose 30 points to 12,980. The S&P 500 added 3 points to 1,364. The Nasdaq Composite added 8 points to 2,955. Plenty of earnings are flooding in particularly from the retail sector in this abbreviated week. Home Depot looks and Macys look great up over 2% at a new 52 week highs. Barnes & Noble, Saks, Cedar Fair, Kraft, Cracker Barrel, and Dollar Thrifty are also higher following earnings. Yum Brands keeps pushing higher to a new 52 week high. Radio Shack is the dog of the day down 6% on disappointing earnings. Walmart is also lower following earnings, but the stock has performed well the last several months. In the tech space Apple and Google keep pushing higher. Qualcomm is higher on an upgrade. Garmin is up 3% on an upgrade. Ciena is down 4% after preannouncing. Raxspace and KLA Tencor are lower on downgrades. In the healthcare space Medtronics is down 4% even as they beat estimates. Medco Health Solutions is also lower on earnings. Amerigroup had solid earnings last week, but the stock is lower even though it received an upgrade. The healthcare space is mostly lower this morning. In fact the major averages gave up their gains in the first hour only to rebound. Through the morning the Dow rose 40 points searching out Dow 13000. The Nasdaq is also performing well thanks to Google and Apple. However here is something to watch. Crude Oil keeps pushing higher now at a 9 month high due to improving demand and Middle East concerns. The Dow Jones Transportation Average has taken noticed now in a 7% correction. That's not good for Dow Theory investors. JP Morgan downgraded CSX and Norfolk Southern. Through the morning into the afternoon the averages held on to gains on light volume. Oil and gold keep pushing higher. By the middle of the afternoon the averages gave up the gains. Energy stocks remain strong, but consumer discretionary and other sectors succumbed to selling. In the last hour the Dow rebounded back into the green even as Walmart dropped 4%. The Nasdaq remained in the red even as Apple and Google pushed higher. The Dow industrials finished up 15 points at 12,965. The S&P 500 Index added nearly 1 point to 1,362. The Nasdaq Composite fell 3 points to 2,948.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.