Day Traders Diary

10/26/09

U.S. stocks started Monday modestly higher, with energy and tech shares fronting the gains. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 24 points to 9,996. The S&P 500 Index gained 3 points to 1,082, while the Nasdaq Composite climbed 9 points to 2,164. Barrons over the weekend was particularly positive on the tech sector. Riverbed Tech, Red Hat, 3Par, NetApps, and Juniper Networks are all higher on an article in Barrons indicating these companies are takeover targets. Wireless modem maker, Novatel is jumping 11% on a positive article in Barrons ahead of earnings on Thursday. Corning is higher following better than expected earnings this morning. Microsoft is up 2% on an upgrade. Chipmaker, Marvell is up 4% after raising guidance. Apple, Google, IBM, and Research in Motion are all higher. The commodities are all higher. Mosaic is higher after announcing a special one time dividend. The financials are mixed this morning. American Express is up 2% on an upgrade. The big banks are lower on regulation concerns. Fifth Third and SunTrust are lower on downgrades. After the first half an hour the Dow jumped 100 points. The Nasdaq rose 27 points. In the retail space, Radio Shack is up 13% following earnings. TJX is up 2% on a positive article in Barrons. This is a Barrons led rally. Through the morning the averages held firm until shortly before the lunch hour when the averages reversed course thanks to a rebound in the US dollar. The financials are weak. The techs are holding firm. During the lunch hour the Dow dropped 100 points for a 200 point reversal. The Nasdaq dipped modestly in the red. Through the afternoon the averages remained weak near the lows of the day. Nothing changed in the last hour. The Dow finished at 9,867.96, off 104 points, or 1.1%. The S&P 500 shed 12 points, or 1.2%, to close at 1,066, and the Nasdaq Composite declined 12 points, or 0.6%, to close at 2,141.

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.