Day Traders Diary
6/4/12
U.S. stocks nosed higher to start Monday trading, getting a lift from reports European leaders were moving closer to some sort of bailout for Spain's fragile banking system, but hemmed in by weak Chinese services sector activity and Friday's disappointing U.S. jobs report. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose15 points to 12,135. The S&P 500 gained 3 points to 1,282. The Nasdaq Composite rose 20 points to 2,767. Friday's 2.5% decline was the worst start to the month of June. Not much of a bounce today. The news is quiet as many analysts and investors seem to be paralyzed on what to do. Only a few stocks are in the green. In the retail space Under Armour and Nike are modestly higher. Amazon was downgraded, but the stock is modestly higher. Lowes and Home Depot are modestly higher. Macy's is lower on a downgrade. The consumer staples, utilities, and healthcare space are holding up as defensive plays. The techs are struggling to hold up today. IBM and Apple are lower, but Google, Intel, and Microsoft are modestly higher. Salesforce.com is down 2% after making a small acquisition over the weekend. Facebook made a new 52 week low. The financials are also struggling to stay in the green. The insurance and credit card stocks are modestly higher, but the big banks have fallen into the red. Bank of America, SunTrust, and Charles Schwab were upgraded, but all three are lower. The energy space is moving lower once again. Pioneer Natural Resources was upgraded, but the stock is lower by 3%. After the open, the averages moved lower. Weaker than expected manufacturing numbers sent the averages lower. The Dow fell 50 points before rebounding. The Nasdaq fell a quick 20 points before rebounding into the green. Through the morning fewer and fewer stocks remained in the green. A quiet day so far. During the lunch hour the averages pushed lower on news out of Europe indicating there is no near term fix for the banks. Thanks for nothing. The Dow fell as much as 80 points before rebounding. The Nasdaq is holding up better. Through the afternoon the averages kept slowly improving accelerating into the green into the last hour. However, in the last hour the averages gave up their gains. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished down 17 points at 12,101, led by a 2.9% drop in J.P. Morgan. The S&P 500 eked out a minor gain, added 14 cents to 1,278. The Nasdaq Composite rose 12 points to 2,760.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.