Day Traders Diary

2/17/11

U.S. stocks opened lower on Thursday after economic data had both the cost of living and the count of weekly filings for unemployment benefits rising more than anticipated. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 31 points to 12,256. The Standard & Poor's 500 fell 4 points to 1,331. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 8 points to 2,817. The earnings keep coming in better than expected. Weight Watchers is jumping 43%, Nvidia is up 10%, Williams Company is up 11%, Cabelas is up 13%, and Cliffs Natural Resources is up just 8% following earnings. The retail space is on fire. Deckers Outdoor is up 7% on no news. Not bad. JM Smuckers and Dr. Pepper Snapple are up over 4% following earnings. Skechers and Liz Claiborne are lower following earnings. The techs look good except for Apple which is lower on rumors Steve Job's health is not improving. The after the first hour the averages moved back toward the unchanged level. Resilient market. The financials are quiet this morning not participating in the rally. Huntington Banc is lower on a downgrade. Most commodities other than Cliffs Natural Resources are not reacting much. The oil drillers continue to improve as money rotates into that sector. By the lunch hour the averages rallied into the green. In the afternoon the Dow rose 30 points thanks to Coke, Dupont, and Intel. Coke hiked their dividend this morning. The techs look good thanks in part to the chips. The largest component, Apple is still trading lower. The financials are one of the few sectors trading lower. In the last hour the averages held on to their gains. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 29 points at 12,318, led by a 1.8% rally in Coke. The S&P 500 rose 4 points to 1,340. The Nasdaq Composite ended up 6 points to 2,831.

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