Day Traders Diary

11/24/2008

U.S. stocks opened higher on Monday, extending the prior session's solid gains, with bank shares in particular bolstered by Citigroup's 11th-hour rescue package from the government. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 134 points to 8,180. The S&P 500 rose 15 points to 815, while the Nasdaq Composite climbed 26 points to 1,410. Citigroup is up a mere 55%, but shareholders get diluted and the dividend goes away. Most financials are higher. US Bancorp, Suntrust, and Ameriprise were all upgraded. UBS is up 10% on news they say they need no capital injection. Berkshire Hathaway is higher on positive comments in Barrons. In the first half an hour, the averages started to give up some of the gains, but then reaccelerated following in line housing sales data. Xerox is up 11% after reiterating guidance for next year. J.Crew and Walmart are higehr on upgrades. Cigna is up 9% on an upgrade, helping lift the healthcare sector. After the first hour the Dow was up 200 points. The Nasdaq rose 40 points. A few stocks are lowering including Google. Campbell Soup is down 8% after beating estimates and then cutting guidance due to the stronger dollar. After the first the Dow rose over 300 points. The Nasdaq improved by 50 points. So far so good. In the afternoon the averages remained strong. Most stocks are trading higher. The sellers and the shorts are taking the day off. Entering the last hour the averages remained strong with the Dow up 300 poinrs. The financials look good. In the tech sector Apple looks great, but Google and HP are lower. The commodities are performing well except for the fertilizers. In the last hour the averages shot higher, rallying over 500 points, 1000 points in two days. Understandably, we saw a little profit taking into the close. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 396 points, or 4.9%, to end at 8,443. The S&P 500 added 51 points, or 6.5%, to 851. The Nasdaq Composite advanced 87 points, or 6.3%, to 1,472.

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