The stock market is trading slightly lower. This is a classic pull back after a 100 point S&P 500 move in the last week. Essentially, the markets are digesting the recent bounce and looking at the big picture. The heads of Germany and France met today and will hold a conference call at noon. Wall Street will be watching closely for any signs of a big plan.
The markets are showing significant resilience. Especially for a down market where panic still remains. In the early morning session, the S&P futures were sharply lower, down 18 points. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was setting up for a drop of over 150 points. However, positive economic reports and buying pressure moved the markets from those lows to just minor losses on the day.
The standouts on the gainer side are Hewlett-Packard Company (NYSE:HPQ) $32.83, +0.40 (+1.23%) and Dell Inc. (NASDAQ:DELL) $15.66, +0.16 (+1.03%). The standouts on the losing side are much easier to see with more red on the screen. Google Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) is seeing some follow through today to the downside after they bought Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc (NYSE:MMI). The general consensus is that Google overpaid, thus the stock is taking a hit, trading at $542.41, -14.82 (-2.66%). Baidu.com, Inc. (ADR) (NASDAQ:BIDU) is also taking a hit today after the China regulatory body attacked the company for lack of oversight on ads. The last thing BIDU needs is the Chinese government on top of them and investors are fleeing today. The stock is trading at $137.50, -7.14 (-4.94%).
The markets are showing significant strength today considering the early losses. A flat or slightly lower day would be very healthy and could signal more gains in the next week.
Gareth Soloway
InTheMoneyStocks.com
