Hopes for more growth from China coupled with a renewed interest in stocks had the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index up more than 13 points to over 1,137, a gain of about 1.23%. The entire tech sector was up on upgrades and takeover speculation. Advancing stocks outnumbered decliners by about 3-to-1. Bullish sentiment was at 53%, with bearish sentiment at 47%.
Leading the market and the tech sector higher was Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA), gaining more than $1 a share, or more than 8%, to over $13.10. The semiconductor stock was up on an upgrade by Walls Fargo and takeover rumors about interest from Intel (NASDAQ:INTC). Up almost 22% for the year, Nvidia is down more than 10% for the week, 20% for the month and 30% for the quarter.
Alpha Natural Resources (NYSE:ANR) was up about $2, around 7.5%, to over $30.50 in early buying and selling. A share repurchase plan of $600 million was announced along with the filing of its 8K this morning. Wall Street liked both. For the week, Alpha Natural Resources is down more than 16%. For the month and quarter, it is off about 40%.
Up about $6, around 7%, to over $95 was First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR). A Goldman Sachs report forecast there would be a rebound in the industry for equipment makers — welcome news, as First Solar is down more than 17% for the week, more than 29% for the month and more than 29% for the quarter.
Heinz (NYSE:HNZ) was down more than $1.80, around 3.5%, to $50.20 on disappointing earnings. Profits fell by 6%, which did not please investors. Heinz is down almost 4% for the month. It has a relative strength index rating of 40, with 30 viewed as the floor for when a stock is considered to be oversold.
Walgreen (NYSE:WAG) was off about 20 cents, or 0.6%, to under $33.80 a share. Down more than 4% for the week, Walgreen is down more than 12% for the month and more than 20% for the quarter. It is up almost 25% for the year, however. Walgreen has an RSI rating of 35.
Newmont Mining (NYSE:NEM) lost about 80 cents per share in early action to go under $61.60, shedding around 1.3%. More and more talk of a gold bubble is hurting industry stocks this morning. For the week, Newmont is up more than 6% and up more than 16% for the quarter.
Jonathan Yates does not own any of the stocks mentioned in this article.
