Day Traders Diary
3/6/12
U.S. stocks started sharply lower Tuesday as worries about Greece's pending private-sector debt swap added to concerns about global growth, particularly with concerns of a slower Brazilian and Chinese economies. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 146 points, or 1.1%, to 12,816. The S&P 500 lost 14 points, or 1.1%, to 1,349. The Nasdaq Composite fell 30 points, or 1.1%, to 2,919. The Institute for International Finance warned a disorderly default by Greece would likely force Italy and Spain to seek aid and cause more than $1.3 trillion in damage to the euro zone, according to a Reuters report. An inadequate participation rate in Greece's planned bond exchange could pave the way to a disorderly default. These concerns are putting pressure on the Italian and Spanish bonds. Back here everything is under pressure. The financials are taking a hit with the European concerns. Deutsche Bank is down 5% on an upgrade. The energy and material space are taking a hit. The coal space is in a bear market which isn't helping the railroad stocks. Union Pacific is down 3%. The Dow Jones Transportation Average is down 1.5% and off 6% from the recent highs. A few bright spots in the retail space. Dicks and Vale Resorts are higher following earnings. Polo Ralph Lauren, American Eagle, Aeropostale, and McDonalds were all upgraded, yet all four are lower. Through the averages the averages remained weak with the Dow falling as much as 180 points before rebounding. A number of techs are holding up like Microsoft and Intel. Qualcomm is lower even though they are hiking their dividend and announcing a $4 billion share buyback. Apple opened lower, but is battling back ahead of a conference tomorrow. Through the morning and into the afternoon the averages remained weak. Very few stocks are in the green. Amazon for some reason is trading higher. A defensive utility, Southern Company is higher. In the Dow, McDonalds and Kraft were higher for a while before selling off. In the last hour the averages remained weak. No rebound today. A select few chip stocks are higher like Intel. Intel is the only Dow component to finish in the green. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished down 203 points, or 1.6%, at 12,759, its first loss of more than 200 points since November 23. The S&P 500 lost 20 points, or 1.5%, to 1,343. led by 2% declines in financials and industrial stocks. The Nasdaq Composite lost 40 points, or 1.4%, to 2,910.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.