Day Traders Diary
6/6/12
U.S. stocks opened sharply higher on Wednesday, lifting the Dow Jones Industrial Average back into positive territory for the year, as pressure mounted on policy makers to come up with additional stimulus. The European Central Bank left its benchmark interest rate at 1% and ECB President Mario Draghi told a news conference in Frankfurt that the euro-area's recovery was expected to come gradually. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rallied 112 points to 12,240. The S&P 500 Index climbed 12 points, or 1%, to 1,298. The Nasdaq Composite rose 32 points, or 1.2%, to 2,810. Finally, we're getting a nice rebound. The analyst community has come out of hiding to recommend a few stocks. The weakest sectors like energy, industrials, and materials are seeing the best rebound. Lee Enterprises is jumping 26% on news Berkshire Hathaway made an investment. Monsanto is jumping 2% on news the company is initiating a share buyback. Hess is higher by 3% on an upgrade. Chesapeake Energy jumping 4% on an upgrade. In the housing market, Pulte Group is jumping 6% on an upgrade. Financials are also catching a bid. Morgan Stanley is jumping 4% on news they are considering selling their commodity unit. Mastercard is higher on a share buyback. The retail sector is mixed this morning. Apparel maker, Oxford Industries is jumping 10% on earnings. Iron Mountain is jumping 10% on news the company is planning on converting to a REIT. Ancestory.com is jumping 11% on news they are out to a takeover. Vail Resorts is up 3% on earnings. Dicks is jumping 5% on an upgrade. Home Depot is higher on an upgrade. To the downside, Temper-Pedic is the dog of the day down 43% after lowering guidance. Mattress Firm Holding is down 17% on disappointing earnings. I guess no one is buying mattresses anymore. Bob Evans is down 5% following earnings. Sherwin Williams is down on a downgrade. Through the first hour the Dow shot higher up 150 points now back into positive territory for the year. The Nasdaq rose 43 points. This was the rally we're looking for yesterday. The Dow is looking for its first 200 point up day since March and first back to back positive days since April. That shows you how bad May was. Through the morning into the lunch hour the averages kept improving ahead of the Beige minutes out later today. Energy is leading the way along with materials and industrials. This started as a short covering rally, but now it looks like real investors are stepping in. How long will it last? We'll see. In the afternoon the oils pulled back as Halliburton preannounced due to higher costs associated to drilling. A number of stocks have pulled back, but the major averages remain near the highs of the day. In the last hour the averages remained strong with only a few stocks left in the green including the mattress stocks, Halliburton, and Bob Evans. Everything else looks pretty good. Heading into the close the averages pushed higher. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 286 points, or 2.4%, at 12,414, its' best day of the year. The S&P 500 Index advanced 29 points, or 2.3%, to 1,315, it's best day of the year. The Nasdaq Composite added 66 points, or 2.4%, to 2,844.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.