Volatile Dow Jones Jumps 100 by Midday

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Strong from the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up more than 100 points to over 11,246, a jump of almost 1%. For the first time in history, the Dow Jones had price movements of more than 400 points four days in a row. Rumors on short selling bans added to the upward movement in prices. There also have been reports of heavy insider buying at Morgan Stanley and other companies. Retail sales were strong for July, both surprising and pleasing many investors. The Dow is down about 2.5% for the week and 3.4% for the year.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) continued to plow ahead as a Dow leader, up more than $2, around 2.4%, to over $91 in early morning buying and selling. The Big Cat is now down only about 2.5% for the week, clawing its way back as it is down about 20% for the month. Relative volume today is more than twice its average.

Also rising by more than 2% was Hewlett-Packard (NYSE:HPQ) to over $32, a gain of about 70 cents. Jeffries recommended Hewlett Packard as a “buy” this morning, based on its “cloud stack.” The stock is trading at relative volume that is 1.5 times higher.

Big Oil was also on the march, with ExxonMobil (NYSE:XOM) pumping out about 1.3% higher to more than $73, picking up $1. The energy sector is gaining as the fear factor is subsiding for many traders. Relative volume for ExxonMobil is at twice its usual amount.

Cisco (NASDAQ:CSCO) was down about 20 cents, around a drop of 1.2%, to under on a negative report that it was “not out of the woods yet.” Yesterday, Cisco was rated as a “buy” by Wunderlich. It has been a good week for Cisco, which is up more than 7%, so profit taking is to be expected.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) dropped about 1.35% to around $24.85, shedding more than 30 cents. The relative volume is 1.78 times the average. Strong yesterday, Microsoft is only down about 2.9% for the week.

The strike at Verizon (NYSE:VZ) was taking its toll on the share price as it fell more than 30 cents, about 0.9% to under $34.20 in early trading. There have been reports of sabotage at some Verizon facilities. The strike at Verizon, involving around 45,000 workers, now enters its fifth day. Despite the strike, Verizon is down less than 1% for the week.

Jonathan Yates does not own any of the stocks mentioned in this article.


Article printed from InvestorPlace Media, https://investorplace.com/2011/08/dow-jones-cat-hpq-xom/.

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