Day Traders Diary
4/30/12
U.S. stocks dipped mildly to start the last day of April as economic data has been rather disappointing of late. News out of Europe that Spain has fallen into a recession isn't helping. The Dow Jones Industrial Average opened lower by 4 points at 13,223. The S&P 500 retreated 3 points to 1,400. The Nasdaq Composite declined 5 points to 3,063. It's been awhile since we've had a merger Monday. Sunoco is trading up 20% after agreeing to be acquired by Energy Transfer Partners. Energy Transfer Partners is trading up 3% as well. Looks like a good deal. Barnes & Noble, the diamond so far, is trading up 60% thanks to a deal struck with Microsoft for a business alliance. On the earnings front, the season is winding down with a majority of the S&P 500 reporting better than expected results. The guidance for next quarter and the rest of the year remains the big question mark. Through the first hour the Dow held up as the Nasdaq pushed lower due to more profit-taking in Apple. Apple seems to be dragging down Google as well, but not much else. The rest of the market is quiet on light volume. It seems investors are ready for the month to end or else they're waiting for the monthly employment data out at the end of the week. Goldman Sachs made comments today that they believe the employment numbers will come in less than expected. By the end of the morning the averages remained mired in the red, but quiet. One stock showing some life is Monster Beverage jumped 20% on rumors Coke was interested in buying the company. In the afternoon the averages kept moving sideways with the two weakest sectors financials and techs succumbing to profit-taking. Speaking of profit-taking Monster Beverages sold off at the end of the day as Coke denied claims they were interested in buying the firm. In the last hour the Dow recovered battling back to the unchanged level as the Nasdaq and Apple remained in the red. The Dow Jones finished down14 points to end at 13,213. The S&P 500 Index fell 5 points to 1,397, down 0.8% for April after four consecutive months of gains. The Nasdaq Composite retreated 22 points to 3,046.36, down 0.8% for April, its first monthly loss in four.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.