Day Traders Diary
5/2/12
U.S. stocks opened lower on Wednesday after the ADP private-payrolls data left Wall Street less optimistic about Friday's nonfarm payrolls report from the Labor Department. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 49 points to 13,229. The S&P 500 declined 7 points to 1,398. The Nasdaq Composite shed 10 points to 3,039. One day we get good economic data, the next day the opposite. The earnings keep coming in with plenty of hits and misses. In the retail space Papa Johns and American Eagle are both up over 10% on earnings. Martha Stewart, Energizer, and CVS Caremark are also higher on earnings. Barnes & Noble and Gap are higher on upgrades. In the tech space Broadcom is modestly lower on earnings. Autodesk is down 3% on a downgrade. Apple is trying to mount a comeback after getting hit yesterday. At 10 o'clock, a weaker than expected manufacturing number out of New York sent the averages lower. The financials are getting hit following weakness overseas. MasterCard and Franklin Resources are down 3% on earnings. Genworth is bucking the trend, trading higher on earnings. Plenty of fireworks in the energy space this morning. Chesapeake Energy is the dog of the day down 12% on disappointing earnings and more revelations of possible improper behavior on the CEO's part. Devon Energy and Marathon Oil are lower by 3% on earnings. The coal stocks looked great yesterday, but back down today. Arch Coal and Patriot Coal are both lower by more than 3%. After the first hour the Dow was down over 70 points wiping out yesterday's gain. The Nasdaq declined 15 points as Apple and Google try to hold the unchanged level. Through the morning into the lunch hour the averages battled back. The Nasdaq moved into the green thanks to Google, Apple, and Intel. The Dow is fighting its way back to the unchanged level thanks to techs, consumer staples, and healthcare. The weakest sectors are financials, energy, and materials. Through the afternoon the averages kept improving. In the last hour the Dow looked like it would make it back to the unchanged level only to come up short. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished down 10 points at 13,268. The S&P 500 retreated 3 points to 1,402. The Nasdaq Composite rose 9 points to 3,059.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.