Day Traders Diary
11/1-11/5/10
November 5, 2010U.S. stocks on Friday struggled to toss off opening losses after the government said employers added 151,000 jobs last month, more than double what economics had predicted. Shaking off mild losses, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 4 points to 11,439. The S&P 500 rose a point to 1,222 while the Nasdaq Composite declined half a point to 2,576. Even if the unemployment number was spectacular, the market was going to have a tough time rallying. We can't go up every day. Plenty of earnings keep flooding in. To the downside we have Activision, Mohawk Industries, Netsuite, Croc's, CBS, Kraft, and Red Robin Gourmet Burgers. Red Robin is down over 12% after reporting a loss and discontinuing guidance. To the upside we have Fluor, Coventry Health, Dish Network, Starbucks, Atmel, CF Industries, and Boston Beer. CF Industry, a fertilizer firm, is higher after trading lower last night and this morning. Freeport McMoRan is up again to a new high. A number of oils are modestly higher. The techs are modestly lower. Research in Motion is down 3% after Dell said they will switch employees to their own smartphone. Symantec is jumping 3% on rumors of a breakup. After the first half an hour the averages remained near the unchanged level. The best performing sector is the financials so far. The Fed's announcement yesterday to allow the best capitalized banks to up their dividends once again is lifting the whole sector. The five largest US banks are all up over 2.5%. PNC bank is up 4.5% on an upgrade. Through the morning the averages held near the unchanged level, but pulled back in the afternoon. The commodities are pulling back, but the financials are holding firm. Massey Energy is jumping 12% on rumors of a takeover. In the last hour the averages rebounded finishing off a great week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 9 points at 11,444. The S&P 500 index gained 4 points to close at 1,225. The Nasdaq Composite added a 1 point to close at 2578. For the week, the Dow rose 2.9%, the S&P 500 gained 3.6%, and the Nasdaq up 2.9%.
November 4, 2010
U.S. stocks scream higher thanks in part to the US greenback falling against other major currencies after the Fed announced their quantitative easing. The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 102 points to new highs for the year at 11,317. The S&P 500 gained 12 points to 1,210. The Nasdaq Composite climbed 31 points to 2,572. The weak US dollar is bolstering commodities as well as natural-resources. Freeport and Cliffs Natural Resources are both jumping 4% this morning. Many of the oils are surging. Suncor is up 8% following earnings. Apache is up 4% following earnings. Rowan and Devon Energy are both up 2% on upgrades. Noble Energy is up 3% on its' ex-dividend date. Frontier Oil is up 5% following earnings. Transocean is one of the few oils lower following in line earnings. Potash is down 4% after the Canadian government rejected BHP's takeover offer. Agrium is down for a second straight day following disappointing earnings. The techs look good. Google and Apple are higher once again. Intel is higher on an upgrade. Qualcomm is jumping 6% following earnings last night. Even the financials look good this morning as all the major banks are higher. Allstate is up 2% on an upgrade. Most of the retail sector is higher after reporting monthly same store sales this morning. Ross Stores is up 5% following earnings. Whole Foods is jumping 12% following earnings. After the first hour the Dow jumped 160 points. The Nasdaq rose 30 points. Almost everything is working this morning which makes me feel like we're near a short term top. At 11 o'clock, the Dow surged 190 points to 11400 as the President now indicated he is open to extending all the Bush tax cuts and not just for the middle class. The good news keeps coming. Through the morning and into the afternoon the averages remain strong with the Dow jumping over 200 points. One sector not participating in the rally is the high flying techs. Stocks like F5 Networks, Priceline.com, and Biadu.com are lower. In the last hour, the Fed made a statement implying the best capitalized banks will be allowed to raise their dividend once again. JP Morgan is jumping 5.5% on that news pushing the averages to new highs. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 219 points to 11,434. The S&P 500 added 23 points to 1,221. The Nasdaq Composite climbed 37 points to 2,577.
November 3, 2010
U.S. stocks opened tentatively higher Wednesday following the elections, but now Wall Street waits for the next move from the Federal Reserve this afternoon. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 19 points to 11,208. The S&P 500 Index rose a point to 1,195. The Nasdaq Composite opened flat at 2,533. Plenty of earnings keep flooding in. The winners following earnings include Open Table, MGM, Hartford Financial, Aetna, CVS Caremark, Con-way, Molson Coors, DSW, and Qwest. Open Table is jumping 12%. A number of stocks are trading lower following earnings including Agrium, Lincoln Financial, Electronic Arts, National Financial Partners, El Paso, Time Warner, Pulte Homes, Rowan, and Garmin. The financials are actually performing well this morning. Bank of America is a percent along with PNC. Both announced plans to sell part of their stake in Blackrock. Blackrock is down 3%. M&T Bank is up a percent thanks to an upgrade. In the tech space Apple and Google continue to perform well. The commodities are mixed this morning. Agrium is down 3.5% following earnings. Freeport is down a percent. However, the oils are perking up. Exxon is up 8% in the last month. Oil driller, Pride International is jumping 6% on rumors of a takeover. After the first hour the Dow remained in the green thanks in part to the financials. The Nasdaq is modestly lower this morning. Now we wait for the Federal Reserve meeting this afternoon. As the morning progressed the averages moved into the red. Many of the financials remain in the green except for Goldman Sachs. In the afternoon the averages waited for the Fed meeting. The volatility picked up right before the Fed's quantitative easing statement. The Dow dropped a quick 60 points, then rebounded into the green once the Fed spoke. However, the rally didn't last. The Fed's statement pushed the US dollar lower causing commodities to rebound. Commodity stocks improved, but remained in the red. One stock making new highs is Ford Motor up 4% after CNBC's Cramer, Bob Doll, and Hen Heebner all recommended it on TV. In the last hour the averages rallied into the green and remained there. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 26 points to end at 11,215. The S&P 500 Index rose 4 points to 1,197 while the Nasdaq Composite climbed 6 points to 2,540.
November 2, 2010
U.S. stocks opened solidly higher on Tuesday as Americans cast their ballots in the midterm elections. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 76 points to 11,200. The S&P 500 added 8 points to 1,192. The Nasdaq Composite gained 21 points to 2,526. Plenty of earnings this morning. In the retail space Texas Roadhouse, Leap Frog, Nutrisystem, and Cabela's are higher following earnings. Fossil is higher on an upgrade while Aeropostale is lower on a downgrade. Other companies trading higher following earnings include Mastercard, Medco Health, BP, Teva Pharma, Rudolph Tech, Marvell, and Martin Marietta. In the healthcare space, Unitedhealth Group and Humana are higher thanks to upgrades. After the first half an hour the Dow remained strong up 80 points. The Nasdaq rose 21 points. Not all stocks are higher following earnings. Clorox, Tenet Healthcare, ADM, Emerson, Rowan, and Marathon Oil are all down over 3% following earnings. Boeing is weakest Dow component down 2%. IBM is breaking out to new highs. Through the morning the averages remain in the green. In the afternoon the averages rebounded moved back toward the highs of the day. In the last hour the averages held their gains. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 64 points at 11,188, with shares of Home Depot up 2.6% and IBM closing at a new high for the year. The S&P 500 index gained 9 points to end at 1,193. The Nasdaq Composite 28 points, or 1.1%, to end at 2,533.
November 1, 2010
U.S. stocks opened higher on Monday, receiving a boost from Chinese manufacturing data while investors geared up for midterms elections and an expected round of easing measures from the Federal Reserve. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 62 points to 11,181. The S&P 500 index gained 7 points to 1,190, while the Nasdaq Composite advanced 15 points to 2,523. The techs and commodities are leading the way. In the oil space, Baker Hughes is jumping 6% following better than expected earnings. Halliburtion is higher on an upgrade. The fertilizers look good. Agrium is trading at a new high ahead of earnings on Wednesday. Freeport McMoRan is trading up over a percent. In the tech space Google and Apple continue to perform well. Intel and AMD are higher on upgrades. Qualcomm is higher as well after announcing the shipment of new chips to Apple. Corning is higher even though earnings were lackluster. After the first half an hour the averages jumped thanks to better than expected manufacturing numbers. The Dow jumped over 100 points. The Nasdaq rose 20 points. The financials are not participating once again. Bond insurer, Ambac is down on concerns of going bankrupt. Another financial, Wilmington Trust is dropping 43% on a take under from M&T Bank. M&T is up over 2%. A number of stocks are higher on upgrades including Union Pacific, Gilead Science, Pfizer, and International Paper. As the morning progressed the averages gave up their gains. It makes sense to see some profit taking before the election tomorrow, the Fed meeting on Wednesday, and the unemployment data on Friday. During the lunch hour the averages stabilized with the Dow holding up 50 points. The Nasdaq is barely in the green. As the afternoon progressed the averages gave up their gains once again. In the last hour the Dow fell 50 points and the Nasdaq declined 15 points before recovering into the close. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 6 points at 11,124. The S&P 500 index gained a point to 1,184. The Nasdaq Composite lost 2 points to close at 2,504.
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