The markets clung tightly to Italy's political situation on Tuesday, and when
Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi announced he would resign following the
approval of a new budget law, stocks took off. The Dow Jones Industrial average
jumped almost 150 points in the afternoon and finished the day up about 100. It
brought a slew of financials skyward with it. Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC ) jumped
more than 4% to finish Tuesday at $26.53, with Deutsche Bank (NYSE: DB ,
$40.55), Citigroup (NYSE: C , $31.42) and Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS , $108.58)
each climbing about 3%. The KBW Bank Index (BKX) of 24 major financial
institutions finished the day about 2.5% higher. While Italy still faces massive
budgetary problems, Berlusconi's departure opens up the possibility of a new
government that could make the large-scale changes necessary to further shore up
the country's fiscal mess. Also headed upward were the two big U.S.
automakers, with General Motors (NYSE: GM ) gaining 4.3% to $25.04, and Ford
(NYSE: F ) jumping 3.48% to $11.61. Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: VRTX ) had
the bottom drop out for the second straight day, shedding more than 8% to end
Tuesday at $30.45 a day after it shed more than 9% on positive news from
competing hepatitis C drugmakers. However, those rivals Pharmasset (NASDAQ:
VRUS ) and Inhibitex (NASDAQ: INHX ) didn't fare as well today, with VRUS
shares sliding about 4% to $69.07, and INHX shares staying about flat at $9.65.
Three Up McCormick & Schmick (NASDAQ: MSSR ): Up 27.47% ($1.86) to $8.63.
Priceline (NASDAQ: PCLN ): Up 8.61% ($43.85) to $552.85. Baker Hughes (NYSE: BHI
): Up 4.54% ($2.58) to $59.38. Three Down Weight Watchers (NYSE: WTW ): Down
3.53% ($2.63) to $71.84. United Continental (NYSE: UAL ): Down 2.88% (54 cents)
to $18.20. Sony (NYSE: SNE ): Down 2.83% (51 cents) to $17.48. As of this
writing, Kyle Woodley did not own a position in any of the aforementioned
stocks. Check out recaps from previous trading days here .
No comments:
Post a Comment