- Commentary -

October 15, 2009 (FinancialWire) — The Dow closed above 10,000 on Wednesday after a year that saw investors scrambling between the bar and the vomitorium. Stocks rallied on better-than-expected news from JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM) and Intel (NASDAQ: INTC). It might even look like a V-shaped recovery if the unemployment rate would stay under 10%.

On Wednesday, the Dow Jones industrial average closed at 10,015.86, up by 144.80 points, while the Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index gained 18.83 points to finish at at 1,092.02. The Nasdaq composite index rose 32.34 points, to 2,172.23.

Investors rallied on pleasant news various sectors, including retail, technology and banking. Leading the banks into earnings season was JPMorgan Chase, which posted a profit of $3.59 billion for the quarter. This beat expectations despite the bank warning of further loan losses to come.

Chipmaker Intel lost less money than industry analysts expected it to, which is considered a party these days.

But there were also grim harbingers for consumer spending, specifically from Johnson & Johnson. The health care giant posted earnings of $1.20 a share in the third quarter. This beat analyst predictions but came mainly as a result of cost cutting.

The big news from J&J, according to experts, was a $5.3 billion drop in revenues. No sales growth spells trouble in the long run, no matter how well the company manages its money.

Especially when managing its money in the past year meant laying off lots of people, who then have a hard time stocking up on baby oil. Rinse and repeat that concept for nearly every other company you hear from this earnings season.

[Go to http://www.financialwire.net/?s=philip+holmes to see more commentaries by Philip Holmes.]

FirstAlert(tm) “Money Index” is an indicator of the depth of market direction or indirection. While not always including the same stocks, the NYSE/NASDAQ/AMEX 25 Most Actives and NYSE/NASDAQ/AMEX greatest Percentage Losers and Percentage Winners (weighted against pure monetary loss/gain) indicate the direction in which the mass of money is flowing, as well as the general focus of the market. Of the Most Actives, last session’s trading showed 22 advancers versus 3 decliners. Volume leaders were led by Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C) trading 72,622,500 shares closing at $5.00 (up 3.5%), Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC) trading 51,974,818 shares closing at $20.83 (up 1.7%) and Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC) trading 38,978,400 shares closing at $18.59 (up 4.4%). Of last session’s Greatest Percentage Losers, stocks taking the greatest monetary losses were led by Barclays PLC (NYSE: BCS) trading on volume of 50,800 shares (losing $8.585 billion), TransDigm Group Inc. (NYSE: TDG) trading on volume of 360,600 shares (losing $252.2 million) and Central European Media Enterprises Ltd. (NASDAQ: CETV) trading on volume of 775,199 shares (losing $122.2 million). Of last session’s Greatest Percentage Winners, stocks making the greatest monetary gains were led by Active Power Inc. (NASDAQ: ACPW) trading on volume of 763,430 shares (gaining $20.6 million), China INSOnline Corp. (NASDAQ: CHIO) trading on volume of 997,630 shares (gaining $19.6 million) and ZIOPHARM Oncology, Inc. (NASDAQ: ZIOP) trading on volume of 393,704 shares (gaining $15.5 million). The complete chart for today’s FirstAlert(tm) Money Index Synopsis is posted at investrend.com (http://www.investrend.com/fa-index-101509). Go to http://www.financialwire.net/?s=%22%27Money+Index%27+Synopsis for all the most recent FirstAlert(tm) “Money Index” Synopses.

The FirstAlert(tm) Economics Calendar lists Consumer Price Index (CPI) for September (8:30 a.m.), Initial Jobless Claims (8:30 a.m.), Empire State Manufacturing Survey (8:30 a.m.), Philadelphia Fed Index for October (10 a.m.), EIA Petroleum Inventories (10:30 a.m.).

The FirstAlert(tm) Events Calendar showcases HALO Investor R&D Day; PETM 2009 Analyst Day.

FirstAlert(tm) Website of the Day: http://www.mechanicalturk.com

Quote of the Day: “They are able because they think they are able.” Virgil

Today is: White Cane Safety Day.

Happy Birthday: Virgil, Evangelista Torricelli, John L. Sullivan, P.G. Wodehouse, Robert Trout, Mario Puzo, Lee Iacocca, Mark Lenard, Jim Palmer, Richard Carpenter, Tanya Roberts, Sarah Ferguson, Emeril Lagasse, Elena Dementieva.

Today in History: Edward Gibbon observed a group of friars in 1764 singing in the ruined Temple of Jupiter in Rome, which inspires him to begin work on The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. Napoleon I of France began his exile on Saint Helena in the Atlantic Ocean in 1815. American Civil War: The CSS H. L. Hunley, the first submarine to have sunk a ship, sank during a test in 1863, killing its inventor, Horace L. Hunley. The Edison Electric Light Company began operation in 1878. The airship, the Graf Zeppelin, completed its first trans-Atlantic flight in 1928, landing at Lakehurst, New Jersey, USA. Tata Airlines (later to become Air India) made its first flight in 1932. Television sitcom I Love Lucy premiered in 1951. Wayne Gretzky became in 1989 the all-time leading points scorer in the NHL. The Cassini probe was launched in 1997 from Cape Canaveral on its way to Saturn. NASA’s Galileo spacecraft passed within 112 miles of Jupiter’s moon Io in 2001.

[FirstAlert(tm) was created by Gayle Essary, founder of Investrend Communications, Inc., parent of Investrend Information. The opinions expressed in FirstAlert(tm) do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Investrend.]

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