Day Traders Diary

5/24/10

U.S. stocks opened lower Monday amid fresh concerns over global growth, though selling pressure was less heavy than in Europe where thin holiday volumes made for volatile trading conditions. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 90 points to 10,102. The S&P 500 index dropped 6 points to 1,081, while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 5 points to 2,223. Shortly after the open the averages started to rebound. Google, Dell, and Apple are performing well in the tech sector. Google received two upgrades. Dell and Apple also received upgrades. IBM is modestly lower after agreeing to buy software maker, Sterling Commerce from AT&T for $1.4 billion. Intel and Research in Motion were upgraded, but both are lower. In the financial sector Citigroup and Legg Mason are higher on upgrades. Goldman Sachs is higher as well, but most banks are lower. Wells Fargo is lower on a downgrade. In the commodity space, BP continues to struggle with the oil spill in the Gulf. BP is down 3.4%. All the oil and gas stocks are lower on concerns of future restrictions for drilling in the Gulf. Through the first hour the Dow slowly improved with the Nasdaq moving into the green. Through the morning the Nasdaq remained in the green with the Dow still in the red. The oils remain in the red along with a number of big banks. Dreamworks is the dog of the day down 9% today and down 25% in the last month. Their latest movie, Shrek performed well over the weekend, but not up to the lofty expectations. Entering the lunch hour all three averages briefly entered the green. Unfortunately, the rally did not last. Entering the last hour the Dow was back solidly in the red, but the Nasdaq remained in the green. In the last hour, unlike Friday, the averages sold off aggressively into the close. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished down 126 points, or 1.2%, at 10,066. The S&P 500 index dropped 14 points, or 1.3%, to 1,073. The Nasdaq Composite fell 15 points, or 0.7%, to 2,213. Here we go again.

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