'Fast Money' Recap: Refiners Lookin' Fine

Spurred by reports that JPMorgan (JPM Quote) may increase its bid for Bear Stearns (BSC Quote) to $10 a share from $2 a share, financial stocks rallied Monday, bringing the broader market with them. The Dow and the S&P 500 each finished up 1.5%, and the Nasdaq added 3%.

On CNBC's "Fast Money" TV show, Jeff Macke said it's too late to be short financials. He said that JPMorgan's buyout of Bear is still a Federal Reserve-sponsored buyout, but now it's going to cost a little more. He noted that financial stocks screamed higher on the increased price for Bear Stearns. The Fed's actions have encouraged people to begin putting money back in the market, he said.

Jon Najarian said that strong earnings from Tiffany (TIF Quote) gave investors faith in the consumer. He said that the jeweler's earnings were key to the market's turn.

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Karen Finerman said that she has been covering shorts when stocks fall cataclysmically. She said she feels better about U.S. stocks this week than last week. She noted a rally in credit names, which may indicate that a sense of normalcy is returning to credit markets, or at least that there is some short-covering, she said. She believes the market will test lows again.

Tim Seymour called the recent bull market a "powerful quarter-end rally." He observed that the dollar has strengthened and commodities have pulled back. He predicted another 5% to 6% to the upside for the market.

Jeff Macke said that the upswing has the markings of a bear-market rally. It's severe, as bear rallies are, and bears hate it, he said. He said that in a perfect free market, stocks wouldn't rally here, but investors can't trade the market they want; they have to trade the market that's in front of them.

Najarian pointed out that the U.S. has a long history of government intervention in ailing businesses, including a bailout of Chrysler to help auto workers. He said the bailout for Bear Stearns was a bailout for the entire financials sector. Finerman said the Fed's action doesn't feel like a bailout for Bear shareholders.

The traders took time to discuss the 3% rally in the Nasdaq. Macke said that Oracle (ORCL Quote), which reports earnings later this week, should beat expectations. Najarian said he likes Apple (AAPL Quote), Research In Motion (RIMM Quote) and Google (GOOG Quote), although he remains suspicious of Google's announced plans to provide Internet access through TV signals. Macke said Google is a sell and Apple is a buy.

Najarian said that every time gold has made a 2.5% pullback against a 1% rally in the S&P 500, over the next 100 days, stocks rallied 12%.

Macke pointed out that Tiffany had good earnings because it had good foreign exposure and people came to the U.S. to spend money on jewelry that was priced in cheaper dollars. He said he would sell Tiffany here.

Carl Icahn filed a lawsuit against Motorola (MOT Quote) today. Finerman said she's skeptical that Icahn's plan to improve share price will work. Najarian said he's not a buyer of Motorola. Macke agreed.