Stocks Gained Amid Greek Drama

Published on Wednesday, 08 February 2012 21:35 Written by Christopher Lynn

New York, February 8^th (TradersHuddle.com) – Stocks were able to overcome earlier losses and move to the upside, with financials and technology stocks leading the move higher. Concerns over delays in the Greek debt negotiations weighed, capping the upside.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 5.75 points, or 0.04%. The S&P 500 index climbed 2.91 points, or 0.22%, while the NASDAQ gained 11.78 points, or 41%.

The market started little changed despite upside momentum in overseas markets amid optimism that Greece could wrap up its debt restructuring negotiations to access much needed funds to avoid a messy default. Meanwhile Chinese shares jumped amid reports that showed yuan loans more than double from the prior month.

In Europe, equity markets ended in mixed trade, as optimism eased mid no clear progress in the Greek debt talks that will result in new austerity measures, so that the indebted country could access a new round of bailout funds.

Stocks traded with modest losses, but they were able to gradually battle their back into positive territory, with both financials and technology leading the charge higher. Helping the financial sector were Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) and Citigroup (NYSE: C).

BofA rallied 3.57% to $8.13, posting the biggest percentage gain in the Dow Jones Industrial Average and breaking above the psychological level of $8 per share, which did offer some resistance. The bank was able to continue its upswing despite increase chatter among analysts and some participants that the stock is heavily overbought. Meanwhile, Citigroup (NYSE: C) jumped 3.5% to $34.23, extending its year to date gain to 30%.

Also closing in positive territory was Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS). The stock gained despite Collins Stewart downgrading it to a Hold from Buy.

Also lifting the market higher and helping the NASDAQ outperformed in the session was the technology sector. The Technology SPDR ETF (NYSE: XLK) gained 0.61% to $27.97 after posting a 52-week high of $27.99. The sector was received boost from better than expected earnings from Computer Sciences (NYSE: CSC) and as Apple logged a new all-time high at $476.79.

Computer Sciences (NYSE: CSC), the IT consulting services provider, surged to the top of the S&P 500, with shares rallying 18.5% to $31.39 after the company posted better than expected earnings and announced the appointment of a new CEO.

Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) gained 1.67% to $476.68. Chatter regarding the highly anticipated Apple TV set continued. Yesterday, Barclays said that its estimates that the iTV could add $5.40 per share to earnings in fiscal 2013. The stock was also climbing amid the news from Sprint Nextel (NYSE: S) in which the iPhone subsidies pressure results. Meanwhile, Sprint shares fell 1.63% to $2.41 after trading as high as $2.49 and as $2.27.

Consumer discretionary stocks were also in demand, with the SPDR ETF (NYSE: XLY) gaining 0.31% to $42.47 after posting a new all-time high of $42.66.

Stocks leading the charge higher in the sector included Ralph Lauren (NYSE: RL), Coach (NYSE: COH), and Walt Disney (NYSE: DIS).

Ralph Lauren surged more than 9% to $171.49 after posting a new all-time high at $178.47. The stock rallied on news of a solid earnings report and increased revenue guidance for fiscal 2012.

News helped other luxury retailers, like Coach, which also jumped to a new record high of $74.21.

And Disney gained 0.71% to $41.27 after beating earnings expectations. The stock continued to grind higher despite revenues falling a little short of estimates.