Day Traders Diary
5/6/09
U.S. stocks rose firmly at Wednesday's open, boosted by a better-than-expected reading of private-sector employment in April and optimism over the ability of banks to raise capital. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 60 points to 8,471. Disney is up 10% after beating earnings estimates by 3 cents. The S&P 500 index rose 8 points to 912, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 5 points to 1,759. Bank of America shares sold off premarket then rose 7% on confusing reports said the firm would need more than $30 billion in new capital to comply with the stress test. The other financials are also performing well. Wells Fargo is up 7% ahead of speaking at a Barclays conference. Citigroup is up 4% on news they need to raise more capital. Blackstone and Fortress are both up over 12% on earnings or lack there of. Lincoln National is jumping 20% even though they missed estimates by 5 cents. Plenty of earnings keep flooding. Plantronics, Transocean, and Devon Energy are higher following earnings. Las Vegas, Atmel, Foster Wheeler, Dollar Thrifty, and Agrium are lowering following earnings. After the first hour, the rally started to fizzled. The financials are holding up well. Through the morning the averages drifted to the unchanged level. The financials and the commodities are performing well. During the lunch hour, the Dow improved led by the financials. Through the afternoon, the financials and the Dow kept improving. More leaks regarding what banks need or more importantly don't need capital keep coming out. In the last hour, the Dow and the financials sold off, then rallied once again. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 102 points, or 1.2%, at 8,512. The S&P 500 gained 15 points, or 1.7%, to close at 919, putting its gains for the year at 1.8%. The Nasdaq Composite gained 5 points to 1,759All 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.