This morning, GS delivered a $2.7 billion quarterly profit. But, its stock went up so much yesterday, it closed nearly flat. However, the news was enough to help the market overcome slight early weakness and close in the green. Or, perhaps the market was expecting more good news from INTC? After the market, INTC reported a blowout quarter and sent its shares soaring more than +7% in after-hours trading! Intel said it earned 18 cents a share in the second quarter, beating the average forecast of 8 cents according to Reuters Estimates. Its revenue was $8 billion, also above the estimate of $7.2 billion. Further, its 3rd quarter revenue forecast is now $8.5 billion, beating the average estimate of $7.8 billion.
This is a tremendous quarterly report by INTC and tech stocks are trading most higher this evening. GOOG, which reports on Thursday after the market, added almost $3. BIDU is trading above $300, up almost $4, in addition to the $8-rise in the regular session today. We took our profits on the rest of our BIDU July 290 calls today for a +120% gain. These options were purchased yesterday morning. We locked in partial profits at +34% later in the afternoon, and, cashed the rest out today:
July 14, 2009
06:58 | HappyTrading BIDU ($295.00) Sold to Close BDUGY Jul 290 calls, at $9.00 +120%
July 13, 2009
08:23 | HappyTrading BIDU ($287.65) Sold to Close BDUGY Jul 290 calls, at $5.50 +34%
07:30 | HappyTrading BIDU ($283.80) Bought to Open BDUGY Jul 290 calls, at $4.10
These calls traded as high as $12.4 today and closed at $11.8. With BIDU trading above $302 this evening, it looks like they can go higher tomorrow, but, be a little careful of possible quick profit-taking.
The dry bulk shipping stocks were also strong today with EXM flying +20.68% higher and DRYS adding +9.51%.
The Dow closed up +27.81 points; SPX added +4.79 points; Nasdaq gained +6.52 points:
SOXX (semiconductors) moved up +1.63% ahead of INTC's earnings. GDX (gold miners) bounced another +2.31% and XME (metals and mining) added +1.47%. UNG (natural gas) jumped +4.32%. FXI (Chinese ADRs) rose +1.94%.
SPX
SPX added +4.79 points to close at 905.84. It closed above its 20-day MA. The MACD went up.
Nasdaq
Nasdaq gained +6.52 points to close at 1799.73, nearing 1800. It also closed above its 20-day MA. Its MACD was higher.
So, with INTC delivering a blowout quarter, it is going to be rallying time? Perhaps. VIX dropped further today to close just above 25. VIX tested 25 about 2 weeks ago and bounced up. So, we could see some support for VIX at this level again, which means we may again see profit-taking tomorrow morning, after a likely strong open. Financials also rallied hard before GS's earnings. But, after the report came out, the response was muted. It may need to take a day or two for the individual sectors to let off some steam before resuming higher. INTC's earnings should drive the semiconductor sector higher and set up a springboard for future rallies.
Good night and HappyTrading! ™
