Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Topsy-turvy Tuesday

Dow Jones 9,744 +57.14 +0.59%
NADSAQ 2,094 +2.09 +0.10%
S&P 500 1,028 +5.48 +0.54%

I actually slept through the final 6 hours of today's session. Before the opening bell, futures were way up and the market opened at full speed. After down days in 9 of the past 10 sessions, the bounce was inevitable.

Too bad the market couldn't hold those gains though. By the final hour, bears took control and stocks generally had to claw their way back into the green by the final bell.

Sure there are traders — mostly quants — that own these spurts and downdrafts. Us little guys, though, have very little edge. That's why I'm content to stay out of this shitstorm and have been in 100% cash for the past month. Getting a good night's rest can never be overrated.

AAPL spent the first hour above 250, hitting a high of 252.80, but cratered into the close (248.63). The iPhone 4 signal/antenna issue hasn't been resolved yet. I can't help thinking that the company put all its focus on the iPad release, which was flawless and dreamy. Then iPhone 4 took a backseat, wasn't as scrutinized, and was launched too early. Proof's in the pudding.

Back when AAPL was in the 270s, I wanted shares to drop to 260 and 250 for selfish reasons. Even at 243 last week, I wanted to wait out the downswing. Support was at 242 and AAPL held its ground. But I'm willing to remain patient here and keep waiting.

There was strength in China, with the FXI up 1.9% to 39.76. Copper behemoth Freeport-McMoran (FCX) gained 1.11% to 59.19. Steelers Posco and US Steel had happy days on the backs of their Chinese customer. Posco (PKX) gained 3.76% to 98.30 and US Steel (X) rose 1.49% to 38.22.

BIDU lost 0.15% to 67.45, looking much like a steal here.

China energy plays were interesting. PetroChina gained 1.62% (111.30) and CNOOC went up 0.97% (168.12). As BP (31.91 +8.72%) regains some footing, CNOOC falters a bit.

In Hong Kong, shares of IPO Agricultural Bank of China raised $19.2 billion despite skeptical outlooks.

Natural gas was flat overall. My list of 40 natty gassers were up 0.05%, led by NFX (+2.54%), CRZO (+2.03%) and DIG (+1.98%). WPRT lost 1.08% (15.54) and CLNE dropped 0.21% (14.44). Both are my favorites in the sector.

GLD fell again, slipping 1.67% to 116.51 and SLV got snipped 0.34% to 17.40. TLT stayed above 100, picking up 0.82% to 101.62.

Financials did better today. GS (132.26 +0.90%) was up while C was break even at 3.79 after giving up its intraday gains. C's high was 3.90.

Across the Atlantic, Banco Santander gained 5.13% to 11.48 and NBG added 5.02% to 2.30. IRE was up a modest 0.60% to 3.36. FAS (Direxion Daily Financial Bull 3x) picked up 0.70% to 18.31.

Many inverse ITNs ate dirt today. VXX fell 4.3% to 28.70 following last week's surge. DPK (-5.85%), EDZ (-5.59%) and EFU (-4.04%) were among today's big losers.

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