Stocks finished the day slightly higher, but at the end of the session it was more of a question of what could have been than anything else. Stocks had substantial gains chipped away at significantly in the final hour of trading and finished just slightly higher. The Dow was the strongest of the major averages, finishing higher by 66 points. The broad-based S&P 500 gained 5.62 points, good for 0.40%. The Nasdaq squeaked out a gain of 1.58 points.
Retailers had a strong day today, finishing with some pretty nice gains. Coach (NYSE:COH) closed higher by 5.14%. The Gap (NYSE:GPS) gained 2.65% on the day. Children's Place (Nasdaq:PLCE) continued its recent rebound, gaining another 2.77% on the session. Kohl's Corporation (NYSE:KSS) shares finished higher by 2.08% on the session. CVS Caremark (NYSE:CVS) shares jumped 2.58% and came within pennies of a new 52 week high.
The picture was very mixed in the technology sector today. EMC (NYSE:EMC) charged higher by 4.38% on the session today on very heavy volume. Seagate Technology (NYSE:STX) shares jumped 5.94% on nearly double its normal daily volume. Garmin (Nasdaq:GRMN) shares were higher by 2.49% recovering a little bit from its very rough stretch of late. Fiserv (Nasdaq:FISV) and Baidu.com (Nasdaq:BIDU) shares weren't so fortunate, losing 2.42% and 1.96% on the day.
Notable New 52 week highs
- The DIRECTV Group (NYSE:DTV) DTV gained 1.45% to hit a new high today.
- Aeropostale (NYSE:ARO) Very quietly ARO has made a very impressive run, gaining more than 38% in six months despite the economic worries.
- Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) This railroad name finished higher by 0.60% and has gained over 27% in the past year.
- Helemerich and Payne (NYSE:HP) This energy name edged higher today, but it has 89% in the last six months.
- Burlington Northern Santa Fe (NYSE:BNI) Another railroad company that has done very well, it has gained almost 20% in the last 3 months alone.
The positive tone that started out today's trading was due to the April CPI coming in more tame than was expected. The core CPI grew by just 0.1% and the overall CPI grew by only 0.2%. Food prices rose by 0.9% for the month. This overall number was most certainly great news for the Fed, which is closely watching the inflation data right now to see what its next move should be with interest rates. Caution should be used when reading too much into this data, since energy prices hadn't gone wild yet in April. The May inflation number may not be so tame.
The disappointing major selloff at the end of the day came after stocks hit some near time highs. It seemed that the air was really taken out of the rally in the last hour, so tomorrow's trading will be very important to see what the follow through is.
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