Day Traders Diary
9/23/09
U.S. stocks on Wednesday opened tentatively higher, with investors reluctant to move ahead of the Federal Reserve's interest-rate decision in the afternoon. The central bank is widely expected to keep benchmark rates near zero, but its statement could yield clues on future moves. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 2 points to 9,832. The S&P 500 Index climbed less than a point to 1,072 while the Nasdaq Composite added 5 points to 2,151. Every day now we see more upgrades and companies raising guidance. General Mills is up 4% after beating earnings estimates and then raising guidance. Both Seagate and chipmaker Xilinx have raised guidance. Seagate is unchanged, but Xilinx is up 4%. The chipmakers and the techs in general are performing great. Palm is up 4%, Apple is higher on an upgrade, Google is higher on an upgrade, and Electronic Arts is up 4% on rumors Microsoft is interested in buying the firm. The financials are higher once again on a number of upgrades. The financial stocks upgraded this morning include Bank of America, JP Morgan, Blackrock, and Suntrust. Blackrock is up 5%. After the first hour, the averages remain near the unchanged level, but plenty of individual stocks are performing great. In the retail space, Lowes and Carnival are higher on upgrades. Ford is up 5% after their CEO made positive comments on future sales. Autzone, however, is down 4% after missing earnings estimates. Through the morning the averages hovered around the unchanged level. The financials and a select number of techs like Apple, Research in Motion, and the chipmakers continue to perform well. In the afternoon, the averages recovered their losses, moving into the green ahead of the Fed meeting announcement. The Fed announcement said everything the bulls wanted to hear, the economy is recovering and inflation is expected to remain low for quite some time. The Dow shot up 80 points to 9900. The Nasdaq improved by 20 points. Entering the last hour the averages cut the gains in half due to weakness in commodities and transportation stocks. In the last hour the averages kept selling off. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished down 81 points at 9,748. The S&P 500 Index declined 10 points to 1,060, while the Nasdaq Composite fell 14 points to 2,131.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.