The Dow, Nasdaq, and S&P 500 all three sit almost exactly where they were at the close on Monday, but its sure been an interesting last two days on that trek. Just yesterday the Dow, Nasdaq, and S&P 500 lost 280 points, 60 points, and 34 points respectively. Today, the three major indicies gained 247 points, 62 points, 
and 31 points. The end result of the past two volatile days is that not much has changed, but it sure makes for some nice business headlines and something for me to write about!
Yesterday you couldn't find a sector higher on the day, and today you can't find a sector that finished lower. The strongest sectors today were the basic materials, energy, and technology sectors.
In the basic materials sector, BHP Billiton Limited (NYSE:BHP) led the way higher, gaining 4.54% on the day. Chemical manufacturing company Monsanto (NYSE:MON) rose by 3.53%, and now sits just $3 off its 52 week high.
The energy sector jumped higher on the day after crude oil rose above $73 on the day. Crude oil moved higher after crude oil inventories came in lower than expected this morning. Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) rose 2.69%, and ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) rose 3.76%. The oilwell services equipment companies rose even more on the day. National-Oilwell Varco Inc (NYSE:NOV) rose 4.41% and Weatherford International (NYSE:WFT) rose 4.12%.
Major technology stocks propeled the Nasdaq to its 62 point gain on the day. Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) jumped 4.76% on heavy volume today. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) shares surged 5.72% on buzz surrounding a revamping of the extremely popular iPods. Research in Motion Limited (NASDAQ:RIMM) rose nearly 6% today on heavy volume, after losing about 4% yesterday.
The Home Depot Inc (NYSE:HD) was the most heavily traded stock on the NYSE today and its shares gained 4.28%. The company has had primarily positive commentary in the past couple of days surrounding the sale of its HD Supply Unit.
Earlier in the week I predicted that the trend of the market would likely not change this week, and that volatility might stay low. One out of two isn't too bad I guess! Volatility has certainly returned this week, with stocks whipsawing down one day and up the next. The market is heavily driven by the current days news cycle right now, and today's news cycle was quite positive.
It is also likely that part of today's rally was due to the fact that market participants likely overdid the selling yesterday after the FOMC minutes were released. The FOMC really said nothing that was unexpected, and traders were able to digest that information overnight and today, and I believe that was beneficial to the markets.
What will tommorrow bring? Once again it depends on the economic news cycle. Keep an eye on the preliminary GDP report which will come out tommorrow at 8:30 am. This report certainly has the potential to move the market.
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