Day Traders Diary
2/1/2010
U.S. stocks rose firmly in early action Monday, with December income and spending data helping lift sentiment at the outset. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 62 points to 10,129. The S&P 500 index rose 7 points to 1,081, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 12 points to 2,159. Everything looks pretty good this morning. The financials are modestly higher. Northern Trust is up 4% on insider buying and an upgrade. Allstate is up a percent on rumors they may shed 20% of their assets. Citigroup is up a percent on news they are looking to sell their private equity unit. The techs are trading higher. Cisco is up a percent ahead of earnings later this week. AMD, Akamai Tech, and Baidu.com are all higher by 4% on upgrades. Research in Motion is modestly higher on an upgrade. On the earnings front, Sysco and Exxon are higher following earnings. Gannett is down 9% following earnings. At 10 o'clock the averages pushed higher following better than expected manufacturing data. After the first hour the Dow rose 90 points. The Nasdaq rose 12 points. The healthcare sector opened lower on lackluster earnings from Humana. Humana opened down 4%, but then rebounded. Through the morning and into the afternoon the averages remained strong. Commodities are also performing well. Very few stocks in the red. In the last hour the averages remained strong closing near the highs of the day. Finally an up day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 118 points, or 1.2%, at 10,185. The S&P 500 ended up 15 points, or 1.4%, at 1,089. The Nasdaq Composite closed up 24 points, or 1.1%, at 2,171.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.