Stocks End Day Marginally Higher (SPY, QQQQ, GLD, USO, TLT, UUP, AAPL)
June 17, 2010 Uncategorized
Stocks managed to finish in positive territory on Thursday, despite spending much of the day in the red. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed nearly 25 points higher at 10,434. The Dow traded in a range between 10,319 and 10,441 during the trading session. U.S. equity indices made an about face with around a half hour left in the market day and rallied strongly into the close.
The SPDR S&P 500 ETF (NYSE: SPY) gained 0.16% to finish at $112.14. Volume was a little heavier than what we have seen over the last few days, but still below average levels. A total of 257.60 million SPY shares traded hands compared to a daily average of 336.62 million.
The PowerShares QQQ Trust ETF (NASDAQ: QQQQ), which tracks the performance of the Nasdaq 100, notched gains of 0.32%. The ETF’s largest component, Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL), helped to propel the quad Q’s by gaining 1.73% to $271.87. Early in the session, AAPL made a new all time high of $272.90.
Gold had a strong day, as investors continue to pile into the shiny metal. COMEX gold futures rose $16.90 to $1,247.40 an ounce. The SPDR Gold Trust ETF (NYSE: GLD) climbed 1.31% to $121.91. The all time high in the massive ETF is within striking distance at $122.45.
Oil halted its run, at least momentarily, on Thursday. NYMEX crude futures fell $1.12, or 1.44%, to $76.55. The United States Oil Fund ETF (NYSE: USO) lost 0.90% to $35.17 in New York Stock Exchange trading. Volume was less than half of the USO’s daily average, with just 8.5 million shares trading hands.
Treasury prices rose today as skittish investors continue to jump into U.S. government debt. The iShares Lehman 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (NYSE: TLT) rose 0.79% to $97.83. The yield on the 10-year bond sunk to 3.19%.
The U.S. Dollar showed continued signs of near term weakness, as the PowerShares DB US Dollar Index Bullish ETF (NYSE: UUP), which tracks the performance of the dollar against a basket of foreign currencies, lost 0.63% to $24.94. The closely watched EUR/USD pair is currently trading at $1.2378.