Day Traders Diary

10/6/09

U.S. stocks started higher on Tuesday, continuing the prior session's sharp rebound from a four-day stretch of losses, with investors looking ahead to earnings season over the next several weeks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 75 points to 9,674. The S&P 500 Index climbed 9 points to 1,049 while the Nasdaq Composite added 15 points to 2,084. Plenty of upgrades to start the day. At least the analysts are in a good mood. In the financial sector Bank of America, JP Morgan, US Bancorp, Goldman Sachs, Charles Schwab, and Hartford were all upgraded. All six are trading higher. In the retail space Abercrombie & Fitch, Family Dollar, Gap, Urban Outfitter, Target, Kohls, and TJX were all upgraded. All seven are higher. In the tech sector Google, Corning, Amazon, and EMC were all upgraded. All four are higher. One tech that is struggling due in part to a downgrade is Research in Motion. After the first half an hour the Dow rose over 100 points. The Nasdaq rose 34 points. So far so good. Other upgraded this morning include General Mills, Pepsi, and Freeport McMoRan. Only Pepsi is lower. Freeport is up 4%. All the commodities are acting great. Mosaic had disappointing earnings, yet the stock is up 4% on anticipation of better earnings next year. Oil is higher and gold is pushing to new recent highs. Very few stocks are lower. The dog of the day goes to St. Jude Medical, down 11% after lowering guidance. The healthcare sector can't get out of its' own way. Through the morning the averages remained strong. In the afternoon, the averages pulled back from the highs led by the financials. Goldman Sachs fell into the red on concerns of a big loss due to a pending CIT bankruptcy. But entering the last hour the averages rebounded and remained strong into the close. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 131 points at 9,731. The S&P 500 rose 14 points, or 1.4%, to close at 1,054, while the Nasdaq Composite surged 35 points, or 1.7%, to close at 2,103.

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.