Stocks Finish Higher on Earnings Optimism and Stability in Financial Shares

Indices
S&P 500 1,518.09 +.47%
DJIA 13,785.07 +.50%
NASDAQ 2,648.17 +.31%
Russell 2000 812.50 +.08%
Wilshire 5000 15,248.40 +.33%
Russell 1000 Growth 608.06 +.23%
Russell 1000 Value 855.10 +.51%
Morgan Stanley Consumer 728.18 +.21%
Morgan Stanley Cyclical 1,078.42 -.92%
Morgan Stanley Technology 652.17 +1.52%
Transports 5,231.96 -.63%
Utilities 497.89 +.21%
MSCI Emerging Markets 140.35 -.50%

Sentiment/Internals
Total Put/Call 1.04 -26.76%
NYSE Arms .82 -48.06%
Volatility(VIX) 18.10 -2.43%
ISE Sentiment 113.0 +.89%

Futures Spot Prices
Crude Oil 76.08 +3.43%
Reformulated Gasoline 209.10 +2.11%
Natural Gas 5.98 +2.11%
Heating Oil 206.80 +1.83%
Gold 675.10 -1.42%
Base Metals 260.25 -2.18%
Copper 357.0 -1.37%

Economy
10-year US Treasury Yield 4.90% -1 basis point
US Dollar 80.62 +.67%
CRB Index 319.13 +.39%

Leading Sectors
Biotech +1.68%
Energy +1.64%
Insurance +1.59%

Lagging Sectors
Coal -1.47%
Papers -1.61%
Gold -1.75%

Evening Review
Market Performance Summary
WSJ Data Center
Sector Performance
ETF Performance
Style Performance
Commodity Movers
Market Wrap CNBC Video(bottom right)
S&P 500 Gallery View
Timely Economic Charts
GuruFocus.com
PM Market Call
After-hours Commentary
After-hours Movers
After-hours Stock Quote
In Play

Afternoon Recommendations
Citigroup:
- Added (WLP) to Conviction Buy list.

Afternoon/Evening Headlines
Bloomberg:
- WSI Corp., a weather-forecasting company, reduced the number of hurricanes it’s predicting this year because of cooler-than-expected water temperatures in the North Atlantic.
- The Canadian dollar fell the most in almost a month amid a strengthening US dollar and weaker base metal prices.
- Apple Inc.(AAPL) said third-quarter profit soared 73% on record orders for its Macintosh notebook computers. The shares are +10 to $147.26 in after-hours trading.
- The Fed’s Beige Book said today that ‘capital spending increased,’ ‘manufacturing continued to expand,’ ‘employment increased in most regions,’ and the ‘commercial real estate market was generally more active.”
- Baidu.com(BIDU) said total revenues in the second quarter increased 109.4% to $52.7 million. The stock soared 18.2% in after-hours trading.
- Symantec Corp.(SYMC) reported profit and sales that beat analysts’ estimates after orders from consumers rose. The shares jumped 11.2% in extended trading.
- Akamai Technologies(AKAM) said second-quarter profit almost doubled as customers upgraded Web sites to carry more video. The shares declined 9% in after-hours trading after profit margins and new customers fell short of forecasts.

GlobeSt.com:
- GE Real Estate bought nine suburban Chicago properties from Blackstone Group LP for $1 billion, then immediately sold one of the buildings to Keystone Property Group.

BOTTOM LINE: The Portfolio finished slightly higher today on gains in my Computer longs, I-Banking longs and Software longs. I did not trade in the final hour, thus leaving the Portfolio 75% net long. The tone of the market was slightly negative today as the advance/decline line finished mildly lower, sector performance was mixed and volume was heavy. Measures of investor anxiety were above average into the close. Today's overall market action was neutral. The broker/dealers outperformed today, with Goldman Sachs (GS) finishing near session highs, which is a big positive. Overall trading, however, was sloppy throughout the day, with little conviction being displayed in the broad market. A number of sectors were down, as well. Cyclical shares were especially weak with the MS Cyclical Index dropping 0.73%. I will closely monitor the market’s reaction to earnings reports and economic data tomorrow morning before shifting market exposure. I still think the major averages are consolidating recent gains before another substantial surge higher later this quarter.