General Motors (GM), Caterpillar (CAT), JP Morgan Chase (JPM) & Microsoft (MSFT) led the Dow higher, up 164. Also helping, American International Group (AIG) recovered its almost 4 point loss earlier in the day, fighting its way back to a tiny gain. NYSE volume was a decent 1½B. But decliners were ahead of advancers 5-4 and NAZ was up 29. S&P 500 FINANCIALS INDEX rose 4 to 286 (up 16 from the low earlier in the day). Hope springs eternal for Lehman (LEH), however financials were selling off in after hours trading:
Bankers Say Lehman Approaching Rivals for Lifeline- AP
Congress is getting into the act of saving Fannie Mae (FNM)/Freddie Mac (FRE). Maybe that's why financials are selling off after hours:
•Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac Should Freeze Mortgage Foreclosures, Senators Say
Even though financials recovered, Merrill Lynch (MER) dropped almost 4 on nervousness. Washington Mutual (WM) was up about 50¢ to 2.83 (more than a point above its earlier low) as buyers rushed back into the stock, but, after hours, that gain vanished.
Financials Hit As Worries Spread Beyond Lehman
Confusion reigns in financials. Enormous mistakes & bad investments have been made, now they're coming home to roost. Try not to panic, it's better to remain cool on the sidelines & let day traders sort out the current mess.
Oil fell almost 2 to just over 100, even on worries about Ike hitting Texas. This is oil's lowest price in about 5 months as it continues playing defense. The Alerian MLP index is in its own bear market falling another 5 to 244 (shown in the Yahoo widget on the right). This brings it 98 points below the peak reached in the middle of last year (after a very pretty 9 month run).
A story just breaking, will leave today's post on an optimistic note:
BofA in Talks to Buy Lehman: WSJ Citing Source- Reuters
Stay tuned!
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