Day Traders Diary

3/11/10

U.S. stocks opened modestly lower on Thursday after China reported a steep hike in inflation and fresh data showed the U.S. jobs market still on less-than-firm footing. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 19 points to 10,548. The S&P 500 Index declined 2 points to 1,142. The Nasdaq Composite Index dipped 8 points to 2,350. A quiet morning to start the day. A few earnings reports from Gymboree, Mens Wearhouse, Imax, Landry Seafood, Jackson Hewitt, Smithfield Foods, and Buckle. Gymboree and Imax are both up over 5%. Jackson Hewitt and Mens Wearhouse are both down over 4%. A couple upgrades in the tech sector are lending support to Google and Research in Motion. Apple has not made a new high, yet. A number of big banks are higher including Citigroup, Bank of America, and Goldman Sachs. Visa is up 2% on an upgrade. The retailers are struggling this morning. Bed Bath & Beyond is down 2% on a downgrade. Tyson Foods was upgraded, but the stock is lower. After the first half an hour the averages remain in the red. Only a select number of techs and financials are in the green. Through the morning more of the same, the averages remained in the red, but not by much. The financials and a select number of techs like Google and IBM look good. In the afternoon the averages moved sideways until the last hour when the averages perked up. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 44 points to close at 10,611. The S&P 500 Index gained 4 points to 1,150. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 9 points to 2,368.

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