Day Traders Diary
12/18/09
U.S. stocks opened higher on Friday with sentiment lifted by better-than-expected earnings results from the technology sector. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 32 points to 10,340. The S&P 500 Index rose 4 points to 1,100. The Nasdaq Composite Index added 15 points to 2,195. In the tech sector Oracle and Research in Motion produced strong earnings results. Oracle is up 6% while Research in Motion is up 9%. Both received a number of upgrades this morning. Google, HP, EMC, Apple, and a number of other techs look good this morning. Take-Two Interactive is jumping 13% on solid earnings. Palm is one of the weakest techs this morning down 16% on lackluster results. The financials are bouncing modestly. Genworth is higher on an upgrade. Suntrust is down 2% on a downgrade. A number of big banks suspended evictions until the next year. Isn't that nice? In the retail space, Nike is up 2% after beating estimates. Darden Restaurants is up 2% following earnings. Childrens' Place is higher on an upgrade, but Saks and Nordstrom are lower on upgrades. After the first hour the Dow gave up all it's gains. Part of the sell off is due to a rise in the U.S. dollar. The Nasdaq remained in the green. Through the morning and into the afternoon the Nasdaq remained in the green. The Dow slowly came back. Volume is heavy due to option expiration, but the averages are quiet for all the volume. In the last hour the averages improved modestly. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 20 points at 10,328, leaving it down 1.4% from last Friday's close. The S&P 500 Index added 6 points at 1,102, giving it a 0.4% drop for the week. The Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 31 points, or 1.5%, at 2,211.69, leaving it up 1% from the week-ago close.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.