Updated late Tuesday and Friday nights
Tuesday’s Close for July 14th, 2009
Written by: Mike Coval

It looked so promising on Monday as the S&P 500 rallied all the way back to 900 where it parked itself. The hopes were strong that we might be able to see a continued rally but no luck, just another trick to get us all excited and then leave us hanging. There is a bright note however; the Volatility Index is rolling back to the downside indicating some upside.

To watch a video of Tuesday’s market action, along with my thoughts, Click here. The DOW closed up 28 points at 8,349 while the NASDAQ closed up 7 to finish the day at 1,800.

Energy: Energy prices have burned out lately with the price of oil now trading back down under $60.00. Late in the day, the price of crude futures was trading up slightly at $59.75 a barrel. Track the price of crude with the Oil ETF, USO

It’s not about whether you win or lose; it’s all about how you look getting there.

Economic News: Stocks wavered after the release of a May jobs report revealed an unexpectedly soft drop in payrolls, but also a disappointing rise in the unemployment rate.

Financials: Big old BOA gave the markets a last minute rally as their analysts called an end to the global recession.

A report published Tuesday afternoon by Michael Hartnett, head of the bank's research investment committee, said recovery will take time and require sustained government support, but that "our global economists believe the recession ended in Q2 2009 and a fragile recovery has begun."

Goldman, GS, reported earnings of $4.93 a share, compared to earnings of $4.58 a share in the same quarter a year ago. It was expected to earn $3.48 a share.

Consumer Cyclicals: Johnson & Johnson, JNJ, gained $0.51 on increased volume as it continues its uptrend and nears the $60.00 resistance. The company beat expectations, earning $1.15 a share, compared to $1.17 a share in the second quarter of 2008. Forecasters had expected earnings of $1.11 a share.

Not a lot of room for option traders here so would a covered call on JNJ legging into the August $60.00 calls work?

Two other stocks up on increased buying volume Yum Brands, YUM, up $0.56 and Altera, ALTR up $0.19 also reported earnings after the close but were up on heavy buying prior to the close.

Technology: Intel, INTC gained $0.34 on heavy buying and is up again in after hours after reporting better than expected results, losing 7 cents a share for the quarter due to a fine from the European Commission. Absent the charges, it would have earned 18 cents a share, down from 26 cents in the year-ago period. Street analysts expected profit of 8 cents a share. As of 5:04 p.m., Intel was up 7% in electronic trading.　

Cheers,
Mike