Friday, May 2, 2008

After early gains, stocks hold modest gains

Stocks pulled back after gaining more than 100 points early in the trading day to settle with only modest gains. Dow was up 48, advancers 40% above decliners while NAZ pulled back a couple of points. Dow is at a level not seen since Jan 3, but volume continues light at only 1.27B. Commodities rose, reversing their recent declines. Oil was up 3.80 to 116.32 & gold was up 5 to 853. Bank of America, a Dow stock, was up 40¢ after there were doubts it would guarantee the debt of Countrywide (CFC) assuming the acquisition goes thru in the next qtr.

Microsoft (MSFT) may be upping the price several dollars for Yahoo. In the tech sector, Sun's (JAVA) announced loss yesterday was very significant, causing the stock to drop 3.69 (23%). Google (GOOG) was down 12, indicating the serious nature of Sun's loss & how it affected other tech stocks. Overall, the stock market is considered "overbought" at these levels, but the Dow remained over 13K for a second day. Next week, the drama will play out.

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