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Latest Updates <http://www.briefing.com/Partners/Yahoo!/> _____ 4:20 pm : In stark contrast to Tuesday's sharp sell-off, the major averages bounced back in noticeable fashion Wednesday as a sense that stocks were oversold helped investors recoup almost all of Tuesday's losses and close at session highs. The Nasdaq, in fact, wiped out its 2.4% pullback from a day earlier while 146 out of 147 S&P industry groups traded higher, underscoring the broad-based nature of today's bounce. Yesterday, only one S&P industry group closed higher. Today's rally validated <http://Briefing.com> Briefing.com's assertion this morning that the selling related to disappointment over the August 7 FOMC minutes was overdone, and frankly, misinterpreted by many market watchers. All 10 economic sectors finished sharply higher, paced by a 3.1% surge in Energy. Already this year's best performing sector (+16%), everything from Drillers to Refiners rallied in sympathy with a 2.5% surge in oil prices. Crude for October delivery closed at $73.51/bbl following much larger than expected declines in weekly crude and gasoline supplies. Telecom (+2.9%) and Consumer Discretionary (+2.8%) turned in the next best performances, with the latter sector staking claim to the Dow's third biggest winner -- Home Depot (HD 36.52 +1.47). Technology (+2.7%) sporting a similarly strong performance was more noteworthy since it carries a larger weighting than the aforementioned sectors. Apple (AAPL 134.08 +7.26) led the charge, soaring 5.7% after confirmation of a special media event left investors optimistic about new product offerings. Seagate Technology (STX 25.44 +0.98) boosting its Q1 outlook offered some added reassurance about the tech sector's growth prospects while a nearly 5% surge in shares of Dow component Intel (INTC 25.09 +1.13) gave chip stocks a huge lift. The Financial sector's resilience in the face of another Fed infusion, reports that a London-based hedge fund (Cheyne Capital) may liquidate its commercial paper unit, and an analyst downgrade on Bear Stearns (BSC 107.10 -1.32) for the third time in as many days amid more earnings uncertainty, reflected the market's appetite for picking up bargains. The financial sector (+1.8%) was hit the hardest a day earlier (-3.2%), but got some help today after Moody's said leveraged loan commitments of major US investment banks do not have negative rating implications as liquidity remains sufficient and marking down the commitments is "manageable." A restoration of confidence in the S&P 500's most heavily weighted sector was a key to the sustainability of today's recovery efforts. The S&P 500 is now up 3.2% for the year. Today's 2.2% advance nearly erased Tuesday's 2.4% sell-off. With all eyes on Bernanke this week ahead of his opening remarks at a Fed symposium on Friday, news that the Fed Chairman reportedly told Senator Schumer the Fed is ready to "act as needed" gave stocks an added boost of confidence late in the day. The renewed wave of buying interest helped the S&P 500 break above its 200-day moving average for good. Even though the letter to Schumer was dated on Monday, the focus on most things positive today augmented the move to the upside as investors on the wrong side of the tape continued to run for cover. On the NYSE, where trading curbs again went into effect 30 minutes before the close, advancers outpaced decliners by a 5-to-1 margin. Volume was once again below average, but that is typical in the week leading up to the Labor Day holiday. While that suggests there wasn't a tremendous amount of conviction behind the buying efforts, market bulls will no doubt be pleased with the quick payback from Tuesday's losses. BTK +1.1% DJ30 +247.44 DJTA +2.2% DJUA +2.3% DOT +2.7% NASDAQ +62.52 NQ100 +2.9% R2K +2.5% SOX +2.8% SP400 +2.4% SP500 +31.40 XOI +3.2% NASDAQ Dec/Adv/Vol 679/2299/1.66 bln NYSE Dec/Adv/Vol 462/2854/1.21 bln 3:30 pm : Stocks continue to hit higher highs as investors on the wrong side of the tape continue to run for cover. Of the 147 S&P industry groups, only two are failing to participate in today's broad-based rebound. While all 10 sectors are trading sharply higher, it is worth noting that Energy (+3.1%), Technology (+2.4%), and Utilities (+1.7%) are the only ones more than recouping everything that was lost yesterday. The major indices are turning in commendable performances, but their average gains of 1.8% are still shy of the 2.3% they need to average in order to wipe out Tuesday's tumble. In similar fashion to yesterday's sell-off, volume is also well below normal, which is typical for late August but lends less conviction on the part of buyers' recovery efforts. The Nasdaq didn't surpass 1.0 bln shares until an hour ago while the NYSE, which struggled to hit that mark over the last two sessions, runs the risk of hitting that mark today. DJ30 +201.95 NASDAQ +49.08 SP500 +24.66 NASDAQ Dec/Adv/Vol 854/2090/1.25 bln NYSE Dec/Adv/Vol 586/2682/952 mln 3:00 pm : Onward and upward remains the driving mantra heading into the final hour of trading. With all eyes on Bernanke this week ahead of his opening remarks at a Fed symposium -- a speech we don't believe will offer as clear-cut a signal about the Fed's next move as some on Wall Street are hoping (i.e. there won't be a Q&A session) -- the Fed Chairman reportedly telling Senator Schumer the Fed is ready to "act as needed" has given stocks an added boost. Even though the letter was dated on Monday, the Fed also reiterating its commitment to ensure financial markets have adequate liquidity serves as a reminder about the surprise cut in the discount rate on August 17 that reduced the probability that the liquidity crunch would result in a recession. DJ30 +177.59 NASDAQ +40.88 SP500 +20.46 NASDAQ Dec/Adv/Vol 912/2023/1.15 bln NYSE Dec/Adv/Vol 589/2663/872 mln
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