Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Stocks up in an erratic day

Stocks were up in an erratic day. Dow was up 60, advancers ahead of decliners 3-2 & NAZ up 10. Volume continues to be light although some make excuses for it. Banks & REITs were mushy with a bias to the upside. After hours, Washington Mutual (WM) reported a 1.14B loss. The stock closed up 31¢ for the day & slipped slightly on this news. As bad as it sounds, the loss was only a little greater than had been forecasted. Intel (INTC), a Dow company, reported in-line results which brought out buyers. The stock had been up only modestly during the day, but after hours rose another 1.35.

Crude oil topped 114, but settled back to close at 113.79. Difficult to remember, but just a few months ago we were wondering about cracking 100. Now it has become the current base for oil. Prices at the pump are 3.39, with some CA stations getting over $4.

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