Even though you wouldn't know by just looking at the final numbers, it was a wild Friday for stocks. If you look at a chart of any of the major indices it resembles a roller coaster ride. Stocks charged higher right out of the gate, but that advance was met with significant selling pressure. The Dow actually was down by more 
than 120 points at one point in the late morning, before rallying into the close. The Dow closed higher by 27 points, while the Nasdaq closed up by a little less than 16. The S&P 500 inched higher by just over one point today.
The energy group was the strongest sector today as crude oil once again soared higher today. National-Oilwell Varco (NYSE:NOV) surged 5.17% today. Apache Corporation (NYSE:APA) charged higher by 4.68% on double its normal daily volume. Smith International (NYSE:SII) gained 4.1% as the exploration group showed significant strength today. Nabors Industries (NYSE:NBR) shares also rose by 4.15% on very strong volume today.
Technology stocks were also quite strong today. Research in Motion Limited (Nasdaq:RIMM) shares led the big cap techs higher, gaining 3.99% today. NVIDIA Corporation (Nasdaq:NVDA) gained 3.84% today. NVDA and many of the chip stocks actually outperformed the overall market quite significantly over the last three days. MEMC Electronic Materials (NYSE:WFR) shares rose 3.97% on the day today. Amazingly, Baidu.com (Nasdaq:BIDU) once again soared today, by 5.97% today. BIDU gained more than 23 points today and closed at a new 52 week high.
Financials were the real drag on the markets once again today. Investment banks were particularly weak as an influential analyst Mike Mayo said that many of the banks may have to writedown billions more in the near future. Merrill Lynch and Company (NYSE:MER) was once again the leader on the downside, losing 7.9% and hitting a multiyear low. Bear Stearns (NYSE:BSC) fell 5.35% on the day. Regional banks such as Key Corporation (NYSE:KEY) and National City Corporation (NYSE:NCC) were weak today as well falling 3.13% and 2.55% respectively.
The jobs report this morning was precisely what bulls wanted, a strong number to show that a recession has at least not started as of yet. The payroll number showed 166,000 jobs gained in October, more than double what economists expected. The fact that the markets were unable to gain any kind of footing even with this strong number shows an underlying negative tone. At the end of the day, it was once again the financial sectors question marks that held stocks back.
The market wants transparency from the financials, and any further signs of unkown writeoffs will certainly not be greeted kindly by investors. If there is one thing that seasoned wall street veterans will tell you it is that the markets do not like uncertainty.
Enjoy the weekend and stay tuned to the RSS Feed next week for more news from the investment world.
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