Pre-quake:
- With a 5% runup since an intraday low touched eight days ago, stocks have worked themselves back to a trading range they occupied for almost three weeks prior to the earthquake/tsunami/nuclear power plant trifecta in Japan. Bulls had a lot to like about Thursday: the rally was broad-based, driven by tech, large-caps and financials, while oil prices were about as inconsequential as they’ve been in some time — other than the fact they didn’t move higher. With that, pretty much all of the beaten-down names got a free day, gambling and autos were among the best-performing sectors. Bonds were down, pushing they 10-year note yield back to 3.4% (another pre-quake level). Gold sold off, while silver set another 30-ish-year closing high, although it did retreat from its highs of the day.
- After the closing bell, shares of Research In Motion (NASDAQ:RIMM) plunged nearly 12% in after-hours trading after the BlackBerry maker warned that its first-quarter profit and revenue would be below analysts’ consensus estimate. Oracle (NASDAQ:ORCL) gained 2.6% after beating fiscal third-quarter earnings estimates, raising its quarterly dividend, and guiding the Street higher for its fourth-quarter profit.
- On Friday, you’ll get the third estimate on fourth-quarter real GDP, and a March report on consumer confidence.
OUT THERE SOMEWHERE:
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