The stock market indices had a stellar day today, with a long rally after a mixed opening. When it was evident the indices were not going to fall through to the downside, they just exploded, and took off in a strong rally that lasted from early on until mid-afternoon. At that point, they consolidated, but still managed to firm up near the close, and closed at the highs for the day going away. The Nasdaq 100 had bounced back from a low this morning of 2551 to as high as 2595, and the S&P 500 from under 1340 to 1359.
So, it was a very good day for the indices.
Net on the day, the Dow was up 123.13 at 12,904.08, which is the first time it was over 12,900 in a very long time. The S&P 500 was up 14.81 to 1358.04, 1 point off its high, and the Nasdaq 100 up 36.28 at 2592.29, just 2 points off its high.
Advance-declines were 3 to 1 positive on the New York Stock Exchange, and 3 to 1 positive on Nasdaq. Up/down volume was 6 to 1 positive on New York, with total volume of just under 800 million shares traded today. Nasdaq traded just under 1.9 billion shares and had a 5 to 1 positive volume ratio.
It was a good day with an increase in volume.
TheTechTrader.com board, as a result, was vastly higher. Leading the way today was Syntel, Inc. (SYNT), up 9.81 to 55.24, or 22%. Itron, Inc. (ITRI), which we traded today, was up 8.12 to 48.23, or 20%, on earnings. Cybex International, Inc. (CYBI) rose 48 cents to 2.35, or 26%, and General Motors Co (GM) 2.24 to 27.17, or 9%, on 32 million shares after its earnings report.
In addition, Valassis Communications, Inc. (VCI) gained 3.47 to 26.31, TRW Automotive Holdings Corp. (TRW) 5.96 to 47.43, Cabela's Inc Class A (CAB) 3.91 to 32.31, Universal Forest Products Inc. (UFPI) 4.35 to 36.85, BroadVision, Inc. (BVSN) 2.48 to 31.88, DDi Corp. (DDIC) 97 cents to 11.15, Leap Wireless International Inc. (LEAP) 90 cents to 9.62, MIPS Technologies, Inc. (MIPS) 68 cents to 6.94, Zale Corporation (ZLC) 25 cents to 3.37, Kinross Gold Corp (KGC) 79 cents to 11.10, and Commercial Vehicle Group, Inc. (CVGI) 1.11 to 13.20. Cobalt International Energy, Inc. (CIE), in a strong junior sector, was up 2.32 to 34.32.
Other stocks of note included NetApp, Inc. (NTAP), up 2.86 to 42.74, and GNC Corp. (GNC), up 2.66 to 32.66. Cree Inc. (CREE) jumped 3.17 to 30.48, Molycorp, Inc. (MCP) 1.86 to 28.14, WMS Industries Inc. (WMS) 1.55 to 24.35, Mitek Systems Inc. (MITK) 62 cents to 11.53, and Devon Energy (DVN) 3.32 to 75.02.
On the downside, Questcor Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (QCOR) lost 1.48 to 34.30 after reaching as high as 36.31 in the morning.
The utra-shorts got hit hard today. VelocityShares Daily 2x VIX ST ETN (TVIX) was down 1.48 to 17.60 after spiking up to 20.69 at one point earlier in the day. The Direxion Daily Small Cap Bear 3X Shares (TZA) was down 1.12 to 18.33, and the Direxion Daily Small Cap Bear 3X Shares (TZA) dropped 1.11 to 25.88.
Stepping back and reviewing the hourly chart patterns, after an early morning attempt and a test of support held, the indices rallied sharply, closing near the highs for the day going away on a very big day for Wall Street.
We'll see what tomorrow brings.
Good Trading!
Harry