Day Traders Diary
5/9/12
U.S. stocks began Wednesday in retreat, with the benchmark indexes sliding more than 1% on concern about Europe's sovereign-debt crisis, and rising borrowing costs in Spain and Italy. "People are fearful of the unknown, and nobody fully understands what could develop," Bob Pavlik, chief market strategist at Banyan Partners, said of Europe's troubles. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell a quick 122 points to 12,809. The S&P 500 shed 14 points to 1,349. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 31 points to 2,915. The news out of Europe is not getting any better, punishing our markets. The financials are in retreat as their European counterparts are trading down 2% to 3%. The real weakness is in the energy space, materials, and industrials. CF Industries and Agrium had much better than expected earnings, but both stocks are lower by more than 2%. Huntington Ingalls is lower by 5% on in line earnings. Phillips 66 is bucking the trend up a percent on an upgrade. Dow Chemical is also higher on an upgrade. In the retail space things are mixed. Dean Foods is jumping 6% on earnings. Soda Stream is the diamond of the day up 27% on earnings. Toyota missed earnings' estimates, but is higher by 2%. Hershey Foods, Under Armour, and Fossil are higher on upgrades while Macys is down 5% due to earnings. Tim Hortons is also lower following earnings. In the tech space, Google and Apple are lower, but not by much. Cisco Systems is unchanged ahead of earnings tonight. ARM Holdings was upgraded, but the stock is lower. AOL is higher by 4% after beating earnings estimates. Through the first hour the averages tried to put in a rebound with little success. After the first hour the Dow fell as much as 180 points before rebounding. The Nasdaq fell 45 points before rebounding. A little more volatility in the markets. The safe, defensive utilities are outperforming all other sectors. Through the morning the averages improved markedly. Apple moved into the green dragging the Nasdaq with it. The Dow recovered over 100 points from its lows, but most stocks remain in the red. During the lunch hour the averages sold back off only to rebound in the afternoon led by techs, consumer discretionary, and a select number of materials. By the middle of the afternoon the averages looked like they wanted to go positive, but sold off once again in the last hour. For the sixth straight session, its longest losing streak since August 2011, the Dow Jones fell 97 points to 12,835. The blue-chip index has lost 444 points, or 3.3%, in the six-session decline. The S&P 500 dropped 9 points to 1,354. The Nasdaq Composite retreated 11 points to 2,934.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.