The stock market indices started off the week with a little bit of a pop, especially on the Nasdaq 100, which was very strong due to Apple Inc. (AAPL) crossing 600, closing up 15.53 to 601.10. In addition, after the close, Apple announced that they sold 3 million new iPads in the first three days, so the stock was trading at 605.50 in the afterhours.
It was a positive session on all the exchanges, and the technicals were pretty decent.
The day started out with a pop to the upside. The indices tested resistance, but backed off, and then came on again. The Nasdaq 100 finally broke through the 2722 area, and then it ripped up to the 2738 area over the next several hours. The S&P 500 went from 1404 to 1414. In the last hour, they rolled back over to retest, and bounced in the last few minutes, but still closed off the afternoon highs.
Net on the day, the Dow was up 6.51 at 13,239.13, about 60 points off its high. The S&P 500 rose 5.58 to 1409.75, just 4 points off its high, and the Nasdaq 100 was up 20.48 at 2733.26, about 5 points off its high.
Advance-declines were about 19 to 11 positive on the New York Stock Exchange, and 16 to 9 positive on Nasdaq. Up/down volume was 4 to 3 positive on New York, with total volume of 700 million shares traded today. Nasdaq traded a little over 1.5 billion shares and had a 11 to 41/2 positive volume ratio.
TheTechTrader.com board was active, and several stocks we traded did well today. Ampio Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (AMPE) exploded today, up 1.14 to 3.82, or 42 1/2%, and went as high as 4.58, on 3.3 million shares traded. Kensey Nash Corporation (KNSY), another standout, jumped 5.61 to 30.20, or 23%, on nearly 300,000 shares, which is big volume for that stock. Agenus Inc. (AGEN) was up 1.02 to 6.27, or 19.4%, on just over 1 million shares traded. ChipMOS Technologies (IMOS), continues its explosive move, up another 2.34 to 19.94, or 14%, on nearly 1.2 million shares. Imperial Sugar Co. (IPSU) snapped back 70 cents to 5.67, or 14%, on 2.4 million shares. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Inc. (LGND) ran up 1.66 to 17.95, or 10%, on 329,000 shares. Frontline Ltd.