Markets rebound…for now

The days are so crazy, I have to write long after the markets close for fear of being outdated!

Pointwise the Dow posted its largest one-day gain ever, closing at 9,387.61.  Bravo, bravo!!!  Alas, even after today’s earth-shattering performance, I am not convinced. 

I am waiting for the day when stocks stop trading as a market and start trading as individuals again.  What do I mean?  Well, let’s take a look at the Dow Jones Industrial Average.  The index which contains 30 blue-chip companies rose 11 percent.  Of the 30 components, 29 closed higher today.   The Dow’s largest gainer was General Motors, which packed on 33 percent. 

I did some digging and here’s what I found: Today’s headlines for General Motors read GM sales up in Latin America, Africa, Middle East… GM to close Wisconsin SUV plant…GM CEO says working to address liquidity crunch.  Maybe, I need a Wall Street lesson on reading between the lines, but did I miss something here?  Even if GM had been oversold, I am at a loss for what sparked a 33 percent run-up.

I think today was just a case of general optimism.  Maybe its because the Treasury Department opened up (just a little bit) about the $700 billion rescue plan for the U.S. and the Eurozone countries are pitching in $2 trillion to stave off global financial ruin.

The news that these governments were willing to participate in a creative, and now collaborative, effort to stave off a world crisis is good but it wasn’t that good.  When the talk subsides and the action begins, they may make a believer out of me.  And that’s going to take awhile.