Day Traders Diary

4/20/10

U.S. stocks started higher on Tuesday after a round of mostly better-than-expected earnings, including results from Goldman Sachs. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 19 points to 11,111. The S&P 500 Index climbed 6 points to 1,203. The Nasdaq Composite gained 10 points to 2,490. The earnings keep coming in better than expected. Even though the news is all good, not all stocks are higher. Case in point, IBM easily beat estimates and raised guidance, yet the stock is down 3%. J&J and Coke also beat estimates, but are trading lower. Goldman Sachs beat estimates by 40%, initially traded up, but then sold off. The regional banks are also under pressure. Northern Trust, Regions Financial, State Street, Bank of New York, and Jefferies are lower following better than expected earnings. Zions Bancorp is up 3% following earnings last night. M&T Bank is higher on an upgrade. US Bancorp is modestly lower following in-line numbers, but the rest of the big banks look good. Wells Fargo is higher ahead of earnings tomorrow. After the first hour the averages remain in the green, but not by much. A number of big cap stocks are lower including IBM, Apple, and Goldman Sachs. Plenty of other companies are reporting numbers including Illinois Tool, Supervalu, Delta Air, Biogen, Parker Hannifin, Coach, Harley Davidson, Weatherford, Unitedhealth Group, Brinker International, AK Steel, EMC, and Forest Labs. Illinois Tool is up 4%, Harley is jumping 8%, while AK Steel and Brinker International are both down 5%. Other than the steel companies, the rest of the commodities are performing well. Heading into the lunch hour the averages slowly improved. In the afternoon the averages remained in the green. Only a few blue chips like Apple, IBM, and Goldman remain in the red. Goldman has pushed lower on rumors AIG is mullying a lawsuit against the firm. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 25 points to end the day at 11,117. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 20 points to finish at 2,500. The S&P 500 Index tacked on almost 10 points to end the day's trading at 1,207.

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.