Day Traders Diary

11/23/10

U.S. stocks fell sharply at the open Tuesday, as an exchange of fire between North and South Korea combined with ongoing worries about European debt rattled investors. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 117 points to 11,060. The S&P 500 index dropped 14 points to 1,184. The Nasdaq Composite fell 26 points to 2,505. Once again the financials are the worst performing sector. Eaton Vance beat estimates however the stock is lower by 3%. The commodities are sharply lower as the US dollar rallies. The techs are struggling as well. Red Hat and Broadcom were upgraded, but both are lower. HP is one of the bright spots in the tech sector following better than expected earnings. The one bright spot for the last several weeks is retail. Brown Shoes is jumping 18% after beating estimates. Hormel Foods is up 3% on earnings. J Crew is jumping 16% on rumors of a takeover. NY Times is up 6% on similar takeover rumors. Not all retailers are higher. Campbell Soup, Zale, DSW, and Cracker Barrel are all lower following earnings. Target and Walmart were upgraded, but both are modestly lower. Through the morning the averages moved lower. Not a good day. Typically this is an up week, but no one looks to be in a buying mood. In the afternoon nothing changed. No buyers are stepping in. HP remains the only Dow component trading higher. The financials look awful. In the last hour, no bounce. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 142 points to 11,036. The S&P 500 index dropped 17 points to 1,180, weighed down by its energy and materials sectors. The Nasdaq Composite fell 37 points, or 1.5%, to 2,494.

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