Politics the hot topic on trading desks this morning. Democrats lost gubernatorial races in Virginia and New Jersey. TraderTalk is that: 1) this will change the tenor of the healthcare debate, and 2) put more onus on the Fed to help the economy because the fiscal side of economic assistance—another stimulus plan, for example—is now out the window.    Read More

Stocks take a breather early on, but show resiliency midday. Blame it on tech. Disappointment over tech earnings (Microsoft chiefly) is causing the NASDAQ to notably underperform the broader market in the first half of trading.    Read More

Opinions about today's rally are all over the map: 1) it's an options squeeze, and 2) hedge funds have been caught short. Regardless, the good news is the rally is being fueled by far more than Intel.   Read More

Don't be fooled--the rally is being fueled by far more than Intel. True, there is genuine momentum buying in semiconductors and semiconductor capital equipment stocks today.   Read More