Day Traders Diary

5/4/12

U.S. stocks opened with losses Friday after April's job gains proved less than expected. An upward revision to the prior month and a decline in the jobless rate failed to keep losses in check. The jobs report was "a little disappointing, but I don't put a tremendous amount of credence in some of the reports, as the weather has really moved up some of the economic activity this year," said Mike McGervey, president and founder of McGervey Wealth Management in North Canton, Ohio. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 75 points to 13,131. The S&P 500 fell 9 points to 1,381. The Nasdaq Composite lost 30 points to 2,993. The earnings keep coming in better than expected. LinkedIn, Mohawk Industries, and ITT Industries are higher by more than 4% thanks to earnings. CF Industries, QLogic, AIG, and Estee Lauder all reported better than expected earnings, but all four are down over 4%. The markets are more focused on the economic data this morning. In the tech space Apple and Google are trading sharply lower. The financials are also weak this morning. In fact most sectors are lower this morning. Only the utility space is trading higher this morning. Through the first hour the averages traded sharply lower. The Dow fell 130 points with the Nasdaq dropping 50 points. It's a risk off kind of day. Through the morning into the afternoon the averages moved lower with the Dow dropping 170 points and the Nasdaq declining 60 points. The bounces so far today have been limited. Through the afternoon the averages moved sideways not far from the lows. Every Dow component is in the red. In the last hour the averages tried to recover a little into the close, but failed. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished down 168 points, or 1.3%, at 13,038, sinking 1.4% for the week. The S&P 500 lost 22 points, or 1.6%, to 1,369, led by tech and energy stocks. Only the utilities were higher. For the week, the index lost 2.4%. The Nasdaq Composite fell 67 points, or 2.3%, to 2,956, its worst day of the year. It lost 3.7% for the week.

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