The U.S. stock market managed to squeeze out some gains after a tug-of-war between the bulls and the bears. The Dow climbed 0.4%, the S&P 500 added the same percentage, and the Nasdaq gained 0.2%.
On
CNBC's "Fast Money" TV show, Jeff Macke said investors tried to break oil earlier, but a bull market finds an excuse to go higher. He said the news that drove oil higher today was activity by Nigerian rebels. He said that shows that the trend in oil is up.
Guy Adami said that
AMR(AMR Quote - Cramer on AMR - Stock Picks) looks good on the long side. He also pointed out that several airlines are in further merger talks. The traders then observed a
Wall Street Journal report of talks between
UAL (UAUA Quote - Cramer on UAUA - Stock Picks) and
US Airways (LCC Quote - Cramer on LCC - Stock Picks)
Pete Najarian reminded viewers that natural gas and coal are still winners. He said to keep an eye on
Alpha Natural Resources (ANR Quote - Cramer on ANR - Stock Picks),
Consol Energy (CNX Quote - Cramer on CNX - Stock Picks),
Massey (MEE Quote - Cramer on MEE - Stock Picks) Eastman Chemical (EMN Quote - Cramer on EMN - Stock Picks) and
Sasol (SSL Quote - Cramer on SSL - Stock Picks).
He also pointed out that
First Solar (FSLR Quote - Cramer on FSLR - Stock Picks) and
Energy Conversion Devices (ENER Quote - Cramer on ENER - Stock Picks)look good despite talk from Germany about cutting aid to the solar sector.
Najarian said for a recovery in airline stocks, he thinks oil needs to make a large-percentage pullback. Macke said a rally in the airlines is a selling opportunity.
Chemical Reactions
Management at
Dow Chemical (DOW Quote - Cramer on DOW - Stock Picks) announced it was raising prices 20% amid what it called a crisis in material costs. Najarian recommended
DuPont (DD Quote - Cramer on DD - Stock Picks) because it has agriculture and solar exposure.
Adami said DuPont is diversified. He recommended a long-side trade in DuPont with a stop out below $46.75. He said he loves the company.
Financials Flattened
The financials sector got clobbered today. Finerman expressed her concern over continued problems at
AIG (AIG Quote - Cramer on AIG - Stock Picks). She said it's not worth her trouble to figure out what's going on at AIG, and she'd rather play
Citigroup (C Quote - Cramer on C - Stock Picks) or the
Financial Select Sector SPDR (XLF Quote - Cramer on XLF - Stock Picks).
Najarian noted put activity in the XLF, then
Lehman Brothers (LEH Quote - Cramer on LEH - Stock Picks), then
Bank of America (BAC Quote - Cramer on BAC - Stock Picks). He said that most recently,
Legg Mason (LM Quote - Cramer on LM - Stock Picks) has experienced heavy put action.
Macke suggested waiting for a big-volume day in the banks before buying.
A Stylish Move
Shares of
Ralph Lauren (RL Quote - Cramer on RL - Stock Picks) made a big move up today. Macke said the market is about expectations, and Ralph Lauren did better than expected. He said this has been normal for the retail sector. Adami said he thinks the easy money is over in Ralph Lauren. Finerman said she sold some Ralph Lauren today.
Adami said that if energy prices stabilize,
UPS (UPS Quote - Cramer on UPS - Stock Picks) might be worth a look.
Billionaire investor Carl Icahn bought shares of
Amylin (AMLN Quote - Cramer on AMLN - Stock Picks) today. Najarian Icahn's position is up to 6.5% of the company. He said he's a buyer alongside Icahn.
The traders then observed insider buying at
Home Depot (HD Quote - Cramer on HD - Stock Picks). Adami said the insider bought $91 million of stock. He said he likes the name here.
During the show news emerged that
Yahoo! (YHOO Quote - Cramer on YHOO - Stock Picks) CEO Jerry Yang said
Microsoft (MSFT Quote - Cramer on MSFT - Stock Picks) has an interest in buying the company and Yahoo! is listening. Macke cautioned Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer against buying Yahoo!. Finerman said Yang has no choice but to listen to Microsoft.
LUV Notes
The traders then welcomed
Southwest Airlines (LUV Quote - Cramer on LUV - Stock Picks) CEO Gary Kelly to the show to discuss his successful hedging of oil prices. Kelly said the company is currently more than 70% hedged at $50 a barrel. He said that in 2009 the company will be 55% hedged at $55 a barrel. He said Southwest as a decent position going through 2012. He said he didn't think the company would sell its hedge positions to upgrade its fleet, because it's dependent on its hedges and cash to safeguard against higher energy prices.
Mike Taylor
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