Day Traders Diary
3/2/12
U.S. stocks struggled for gains Friday after a slightly lower start, with energy companies leading the slide as the price of oil fell. "Overall the economic and market climate is continuing to improve, but markets don't move in a straight line, and obviously there's a risk of a pullback here," said David Kelly, chief market strategist at J.P. Morgan Funds. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 10 points to 12,969. The S&P 500 declined almost a point to 1,373. The Nasdaq Composite turned half a point higher to 2,989. Another quiet start to the day. On the earnings front retailer, Genesco is jumping 5% after beating estimates. AnnTaylor is jumping 5% on an upgrade ahead of earnings next week. Sara Lee is jumping 5% after announcing a $3 one time dividend and the spin off of their coffee and tea business. Foot Locker and Big Lots are quiet following earnings. Anheuser Busch is lower on an upgrade. The tech and financial sectors have been stand outs to start the year although both sectors are quiet to start the day. Apple is quiet this morning following a phenomenal rally. Fusion-io is higher on an upgrade. IPO, Yelp is jumping 60% this morning. It's like the good old days. Through the first hour the Dow remained in the red, but not by much. The Nasdaq is modestly higher. Through the morning the averages remained quiet with the Dow in the red and the Nasdaq modestly higher. In the afternoon the averages moved sideways recovering a little in the last hour. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished down 2 points at 12,977, losing 0.04% for the week, only its third weekly loss this year. Midweek, the blue-chip index closed above 13,000 for its first time since 2008. The S&P 500 ended down 4 points to 1,369, up 0.3% for the week. On Wednesday, the index wrapped up its best two-month start to the year since 1987. The Nasdaq Composite ended down 12 points at 2,976, up 0.4% for the week. The index this week passed the 3,000 mark, a first since 2000.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.