The Meltdown Caused by the Meltdown is Melting Down

Yesterday was a very good day for the stock market. The S&P 500 gained 1.50% to close at 1,298.38. The index is now only about 5 points from closing back above its 50-day moving average.

It appears that the partial market meltdown caused by the partial nuclear meltdown has partially melted away. But who knows what traders will choose to freak out about next?

I was happy to see AFLAC (AFL) jump up to $52.23 yesterday. The stock is roughly back to where it was in late December. Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY) also got a nice lift thanks to an upgrade from FBR Capital. Leucadia National (LUK) closed at a new 52-week high, and remarkably, it’s our top-performing stock on the Buy List.

I was surprised to the see the VIX, the Volatility Index, come down so quickly from its recent spike. The VIX had mostly bounced around the upper-teens until the earthquake. Last Wednesday, it reached an intra-day peak of 31.28. Since then, it’s cooled off and yesterday the VIX closed at 20.61.

Posted by on March 22nd, 2011 at 8:35 am


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