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Shortened session can’t stop the bulls from pushing stocks higher heading into the weekend. The Dow ($INDU) added 102.43 points, or 1.17 percent, to close at 8,829.04. The S&P 500 ($SPX) gained 8.56 points, or 0.96 percent, to finish the session at 896.24. The Nasdaq ($COMPQ) tacked on 3.47 points, or 0.23 percent, to 1,535.57. Volume was obviously light on the session with only 787.0 million shares traded on the NYSE and 799.0 million shares exchanging hands on the Naz. Market breadth was positive by a 20-to-10 and 18-to-9 margin on the Big Board and Naz respectively.

We have talked a lot in the past few months about volatility with intraday, day to day and weekly movement at historic levels. In fact, the past five trading sessions, including today’s shortened session, pushed the Dow and SPX to gains not seen in 75 years. For this time frame, the Dow gained more than 17 percent with the SPX up 19 percent. This doesn’t necessarily mean the worst is over for the stock market, but it definitely is a positive sign.

The Philly Semiconductor Index ($SOX) has gained 10 percent since Monday, but fell 1.52 percent Friday. This was due to a warning from chip maker STMicroelectronics (STM). The company lowered its revenue guidance to a range of $2.20 billion and $2.35 billion when the First Call estimate was $2.62 billion. The fact that demand has softened and there were many orders pushed out, STM lowered guidance. This didn’t sit well with traders, who sold the stock to the tune of a loss of 7.81 percent to $6.61. However, the stock did avoid hitting a new low. Shares of Intel (INTC), which also warned earlier in the month, fell 1.22 percent.

Citigroup (C) has gotten a ton of attention the past few months, mostly on the negative side. For the month, the stock has declined 39 percent, but shares did climb 17.59 percent Friday and more than doubled this past week, closing at $8.29. The financial stock has a 52-week high at $35.29. Shares of JPMorgan (JPM) also saw gains Friday, up 3.5 percent to $31.66.

Today is known as Black Friday and is the unofficial start of the holiday shopping season. Early reports were that shoppers were lighter than normal and much more selective, but this didn’t stop stocks from rising on the session. Retailers have been warning of lower profits this past month as consumer sentiment has plummeted on the slowdown in the economy. Next week could see a lot of volatility with several key economic reports on tap, including the always-important employment situation report on Friday.

Jody Osborne
Senior Writer & Options Strategist
Optionetics.com ~ Your Options Education Site

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