Day Traders Diary
5/15/12
U.S. stocks struggled into positive terrain after a wobbly start on Tuesday after a gauge of manufacturing in the New York region rebounded in May, but investors also contended with reports of another breakdown in attempts to form a coalition government in Greece. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 11 points to 12,706. The S&P 500 climbed a point to 1,339. The Nasdaq Composite rose 6 points to 2,908. A premarket rally has lost a lot of its' sizzle as the US dollar keeps pushing higher verse the Euro and other currencies. A number of earnings reports out this morning. Groupon is jumping 20% on better than expected earnings. The techs in general are performing well. Juniper, Amazon, Marvell, and Akamai are higher on upgrades. Google and Apple are performing well. Applied Materials is lower on a downgrade. In the retail space the earnings are mixed. TJX and Dicks are jumping 7% on earnings, but the rest of the earnings are coming in light. Home Depot is down 3% on in line earnings although the stock has performed well this year. Valspar is lower by 3% even as they beat estimates. Lowes and Sherwin Williams are lower in sympathy. Saks is down 5% on in line earnings while Artic Cat is down 16% on earnings. I guess no one is buying snowmobiles this summer. The energy space continues to struggle. Patriot Coal is down 6% after revising sales numbers. In the oil space Total, Philips 66, and Silver Wheaton were all upgraded. Philips 66 is jumping 2% on earnings. Through the first hour the averages improved a little with the Dow rising 40 points and the Nasdaq improving by 17 points. The financials are modestly higher as a number of hedge funds disclosed increased positions in a number of banks. Bank of America is jumping 2% on news David Tepper initiated a new position. Hartford Financials is up a percent as John Paulson disclosed an 8% stake. Through the morning the averages remained in the green, but by the afternoon the averages gave up most of the gains. The Dow fell to the unchanged level due to weakness in energy, materials, and some industrials. The Nasdaq and the techs are holding up much better. In the last hour the averages spiked lower as the Euro dropped and the US dollar rallied on concerning news out of Greece. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished down 63 points at 12,632. The Nasdaq Composite shed 8 points to 2,893. The S&P 500 declined 7 points to 1330.All comments contained herein are for informational purposes only, and should not be considered as a solicitation to buy or sell any security. The firm does not guarantee the accuracy or completeness of the information or make any warranties regarding results from it's usage.