This morning, crude inventories came in lower than expected. New home sales was down, but personal spending and salary rose. These were enough to keep investors' jovial holiday spirit. Energies, coals, and steels (all mentioned yesterday) continued to rise: CNX+4.94%, BTU +2.58%, APA +0.87%, WLT +1.31%.
Internet stocks were hot today. PCLN recorded a new 52-week high, closing at $229, up almost $9! AMZN climbed back to $139. YHOO and EBAY both jumped more than +4%. GOOG, closing above $601 yesterday, gained another $10.56 today. We started to lock in some profits:
December 23, 2009
01:02 | HappyTrading AMZN ($139.00) Sold to Close QZNAG Jan 7 calls, at $7.30 +55%
11:42 | HappyTrading AMZN ($138.80) Sold to Close QZNAG Jan 135 calls, at $7.10 +51%
08:50 | HappyTrading AMZN ($137.40) Sold to Close QZNAG Jan 135 calls, at $6.50 +38%
08:21 | HappyTrading APA ($104.20) Sold to Close APAAT Jan 100 calls, at $5.40 +35%
With the AMZN trade, we started it just yesterday:
December 22, 2009
09:35 | HappyTrading AMZN ($134.30) Bought to Open QZNAG Jan 135 calls, at $4.70
Our highest exit, a 1-day +55% gain, got filled just before the close and was the day high.
The APA trade was opened on Monday:
December 21, 2009
07:44 | HappyTrading APA ($102.00) Bought to Open APAAT Jan 100 calls, at $4.00
We locked in a partial profit of +35%. These APA 100 calls closed at $5.5 and went as high as $5.7, not far from our partial exit.
The Dow was up +1.51 points; SPX added +2.57 points; Nasdaq gained +16.97 points:
XME (metals and mining) added +2.95% while GDX (gold miners) rose +3.37%. USO (oil) jumped +3.23% and UNG (natural gas) climbed +2%. INX2 (internet) led the techs with a +1.58% gain. XLF (financials) slid a bit. FXI (Chinese ADRs) finally recorded a win.
SPX
SPX added +2.57 points to close at 1120.59. It closed above the 1120 level. Its daily MAs and MACD were up.
Nasdaq
Nasdaq gained +16.97 points to close at 2269.64. Its daily MAs and MACD went higher.
SPX finally closed above 1120, while Nasdaq continued to go higher. VIX bounced back a bit, but, still closed below 20. Coals, steels, and energies stayed strong. In the Market Forecast & Sector Watch article this weekend, we discussed the "triangle-relationship" between the dollar, gold, and oil, and how they can affect the overall market. We mentioned that gold looked weak and oil could bounce, both of which manifested this week. As a result, energy stocks, including coals, have been leading the market higher. However, financials were missing from the rally roster today. Techs are holding their own and are emerging as the new leaders on the market, as we've been discussing for a while now. But, I still think the financials hold the key to SPX breaking out. It was good that SPX closed above 1120 today. We'll have to see if it can start riding the daily upper BB higher to be sure.
Good night and HappyTrading! ™
