- Commentary -

October 20, 2009 (FinancialWire) (By Philip Holmes) — Stocks finished higher on Monday as there was little in recent earnings or economic reports to dampen the enthusiasm of the enthusiastic. Two big tech reports due after the bell — by Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) and Texas Instruments (NYSE: TXN) — are on track to maintaining the good cheer.

The Dow Jones industrial average ended the trading session at 10,092.19, up by 96.28 points, while the Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index gained 10.23 points, to close at 1,097.91. The Nasdaq composite index rose 19.52 points on the day, to close at 2,176.32.

Investors liked what they saw from Caterpillar and Hasbro, among others, but it was tech that had them buying. The sector is showing signs of rebound — enough for the New York Times to gush, “The calendar says we are well on our way to winter, but for many technology companies, orders are starting to bloom like flowers after a spring rain.”

IBM, Intel and Google all beat analysts expectations when they reported, and Apple didn’t disappoint after the bell on Monday. The company posted a whopping 25% increase in sales, to $9.87 billion during the period ended September 26. Analysts were looking for revenue of $9.22 billion and profit of $1.43 a share; they got fourth-quarter net income up 47 percent ,to $1.67 billion, or $1.82 a share.

Is the recession over? Maybe, but as the Times puts it, “Much depends on how the nascent revival in the technology sector plays out. Computer hardware and software are building blocks of the modern economy, as basic as iron ore and coal were to the industrial era.”

True enough, and there’s good from the sector news to savor for now.

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

The 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. 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 Housing Starts & Building Permits for Sep. (8:30 a.m.), Producer Price Index (PPI) for September (8:30 a.m.), Weekly Chain Store Sales (8:55 a.m.).

The FirstAlert(tm) Events Calendar showcases ASEI, DCP, INSY, OSIS @ Imperial Capital Homeland Security Investor Conference; CASY, CORE, SUSS, PTRY @ Morgan Keegan Convenience Store & Distributor Conference; NDSN Investor Day.

FirstAlert(tm) Website of the Day: http://www.1911encyclopedia.org/Schleswig-Holstein_Question

Quote of the Day: “The Schleswig-Holstein question is so complicated, only three men in Europe have ever understood it. One was Prince Albert, who is dead. The second was a German professor who became mad. I am the third and I have forgotten all about it.” Lord Palmerston

Today is: Miss American Rose Day.

Happy Birthday: Sir Christopher Wren, Bela Lugosi, Jelly Roll Morton, Arlene Francis, Grandpa Jones, Art Buchwald, Mickey Mantle, Dr. Joyce Brothers, Jerry Orbach, Earl Hindman, Tom Petty, Viggo Mortensen.

Today in History: The Patent of Tolerance, providing limited freedom of worship, was approved in 1781 in Habsburg Monarchy. Peru and Chile signed the Treaty of Ancón in 1883, bringing an end to Peru’s involvement in the War of the Pacific. General Douglas MacArthur, in 1944, fulfilled his promise to return to the Philippines when he commanded an Allied assault on the islands, reclaiming them from the Japanese during the Second World War. The Sydney Opera House opened in 1973.

[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.]

FinancialWire(tm) is a fully independent, proprietary news wire service. FinancialWire(tm) is not a press release service, and receives no compensation for its news, opinions or distributions. Further disclosure is at the FinancialWire(tm) web site (http://www.financialwire.net/disclosures.php). Contact FinancialWire(tm) directly via inquiries@financialwire.net.

Free annual reports for companies mentioned in the news are available through the Free Annual Reports Service (http://investrend.ar.wilink.com/?level=279).

Legal Disclaimer:

EIN Presswire provides this news content "as is" without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the author above.