Day Traders Diary
03/19/2012
U.S. stocks began mildly lower Monday following last week's advance to near four-year highs as Apple disclosed this morning they will start paying a dividend and buying back stock. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 18 points to 13,214. The S&P 500 Index shed a point to 1,403. The Nasdaq Composite declined a point to 3,053. We'll start as usual with Apple up over a percent just under its' all time high thanks in part to their comments and record ipad sales over the weekend. Qualcomm is higher thanks to a positive Barrons article. Fairchild Semi is higher on an upgrade. Google also looks good, but the rest of the techs are under some pressure. Ebay is lower by a percent on a downgrade. Sprint is down 4% on a downgrade as more companies struggle to compete with Apple. The financials and housing stocks continue to lead the market. Capital One is higher by 2% on an upgrade. Plenty of news in the retail space. Gap is trading at a new high on an upgrade. Yum Brands is modestly higher on an upgrade. Panera Bread was upgraded, but the stock is lower. Target issued a new share buyback and dividend, but the stock is lower. Dunkin Donuts is lower after issuing new shares. Through the morning the major averages improved moving into the green thanks to the financials and Apple. The energy space is higher. Devon Energy and Nucor are up 2% on upgrades. The materials also look good. Even the transports look good. UPS is up 3% after agreeing to acquire a European delivery company. All is well in the market. Amazing start to the year. Through the morning and into the afternoon the averages kept improving thanks to the financials, energy, and techs like Apple. In the last hour the Dow pulled back in part to Bank of America rumors of a secondary coming down the road. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 6 points at 13,239. The S&P 500 added 5 points to 1,409. The Nasdaq Composite rose 23 points, or 0.8%, to 3,078.
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.