The stock market had a strong start to the holiday shortened week today. After a very bad week last week, the bulls got things off to a better start this week. The Dow finished higher by 68.57 points. The S&P 500 gained 9.42 points. The Nasdaq charged higher by 36.57 points, or 1.5%.
Tech stocks led the market higher on the day. Google (Nasdaq:GOOG) shares 
finished higher by 2.99% on the day. Apple Inc. (Nasdaq:AAPL) shares had another strong day today, closing up by 2.86%. VMWare (NYSE:VMW) shares closed higher by 2.76%. Software giant Intuit (Nasdaq:INTU) saw its power higher by 4% on slightly higher than average volume. KLA Tencor (Nasdaq:KLAC) and Xilinx (Nasdaq:XLNX) rose by 3.51% and 2.44% respectively as part of the strong semiconductor sector.
Transportation stocks were also very strong across the board today. United Parcel Services (NYSE:UPS) and FedEx (NYSE:FDX) both showed significant strength today, gaining 2.06% and 3.27% respectively. Railroad stocks were also strong. Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) shares popped higher by 3.77% on the day. Burlington Northern Santa Fe (NYSE:BNI) closed higher by 2.2%. As you might expect, airline stocks saw a nice bounce today on the sizable drop in crude oil prices. Delta Airlines (NYSE:DAL) gained 8.55% on the day. Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) shares gained 3.08% today. Northwest Airlines (NYSE:NWA) was today's big winner, charging higher by 13.62%.
In what will be a big earnings week for the retail group, many of those stocks got off to a good start in today's trading. Urban Outfitters (Nasdaq:URBN) powered higher by 3.83%. Abercrombie and Fitch (NYSE:ANF) gained 2.38%, though it was on lower than normal volume. Bed Bath and Beyond (Nasdaq:BBBY) shares jumped 3.11% today. PetSmart (Nasdaq:PETM) shares gained 3.55% on strong volume.
Energy and Basic Material stocks were weak today as commodities were actually very weak across the board today. Apache Corporation (NYSE:APA) shares lost 2.55% on the day. Southwestern Energy (NYSE:SWN) shares lost 2.71% on the day, but its shares are higher by 3% in after hours trading after news that it will join the S&P 500. The Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS) shares fell by 3.7% as the agriculture group fell today. Potash Corporation (NYSE:POT) shares lost 3.02%. Barrick Gold (NYSE:ABX) fell by 3.04% as gold prices plunged today.
The overall volume on the street was quite weak today, as should be expected for the day after a holiday. It is likely that volume might stay fairly low the entire week, but I think the volatility will likely increase as the week goes.
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