Day Traders Diary

12/28/09

U.S. stocks opened higher on Monday, as upbeat holiday retail sales numbers lifted hopes for the economic recovery, helping offset weakness in airlines after Friday's foiled plot to blow up a U.S. passenger jet. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 27 points to 10,548, with 20 of its 30 components advancing. The S&P 500 index inched up 3 points to 1,129. The Nasdaq Composite gained 9 points to 2,295. Within the retail sector Deckers Outdoors, Skechers, American Eagle, Gap, Finish Line, and Nordstrom are all higher on positive analyst comments. The footwear stores are performing well. The techs are shooting higher. Google, Apple, IBM, and Microsoft are at new highs. Apple received two upgrades. Barrons wrote a cover piece on IBM. After the first hour the averages clung to gains on light volume. The big cap techs remain strong. The commodities and financials are modestly in the green. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are higher after the Treasury amended their terms to keep them functioning.
Through the morning and into the afternoon the averages hovered around the unchanged level. The averages dipped into the red on word Al-Qaeda took responsibility for the potential airplane bombing on Christmas. In the last hour the averages snuck back into the green. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 26 points at 10,547.08, its highest closing level since October of 2008. The S&P 500 index rose a point to 1,127. also its highest close since October of last year. The Nasdaq Composite gained 5 points to 2,291, its highest close since September 2008.

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