The Bear Up in the Air - $2 or $10?

It appears that the street, investors, day traders and the general public all though the Bear deal at $2.00 a share was a done deal. Surprise, surprise - JP Morgan upped the ante to $10.00 a share. This news created a nice positive tone to the markets today however, I doubt if many investors who dumped their shares last week are doing little smiling. After all, the increase in the share 'offer' could have helped those who took a beating, lighten the pain, just a little. Regardless, the markets moved nicely higher as we began a new week, after the extended holiday weekend. Even news from Chicago Fed that they confirm that it appears a recession has begun, didn't dim the positive trend, across the board today.

At the closing bell on the Stock Exchange, here is how the major indices ended the session on the U.S. Markets:

DOW (Dow Jones Industrial Average) triple digit gain of 187.32 points on the day to end the session at 12,548.64

NYSE (New York Stock Exchange) triple digit gain of 142.05 points to end the session at 8,859.61

NASDAQ gain of 68.64 points for a close at 2,326.75

S&P 500 gain of 20.37 points for a close at 1,349.88

FTSE All-World ex-U.S. gain of 2.59 points to close at 234.38

FTSE RAFI 1000 gain of 75.91 points to close at 5,499.02

BEL 20 unchanged at 3,623.02

CAC 40 unchanged at 4,533.72

FTSE100 unchanged at 5,495.20

NIKKEI 225 triple digit gain of 219.70 points to end the session at 12,480.10

On the NYSE today, advancers came in at 2,593, decliners totaled 630; unchanged came in at 42; new highs came in at 40 and new lows came in at 33. Momentum NYSE stocks traded by active Day Traders today: The Bear Stearns Companies, Incorporated (BSC) gained 5.28 points with a high on the day of $13.85 a low of $9.38 for a closing price at $11.25: Lehman Brothers Holdings Incorporated (LEH) shed 2.01 points with a high on the day of $49.49, a low of $46.10 for a closing price at $46.64; Sherwin-Williams Corporation (SHW) shed 0.95 points with a high on the day of $53.76, a low of $50.35 for a closing price at $52.87; Alliance Data Systems Corporation (ADS) shed 3.40 points with a high on the day of $51.50, a low of $48.82 for a closing price at $48.82; Goldman Sachs Group Incorporated (GS) shed 0.75 points with a high on the day of $184.52, a low of $176.15 for a closing price at $178.88; BlackRock, Incorporated (BLK) gained 18.43 points with a high on the day of $231.92 a low of $195.80 for a closing price at $224.53; AbitibiBowater, Incorporated (ABH) gained 3.79 points with a high on the day of $14.19 a low of $10.04 for a closing price at $13.56; Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan, Incorporated (POT) gained 6.54 points with a high on the day of $154.65 a low of $148.35 for a closing price at $150.80; VISA Incorporated (V) shed 4.62 points with a high on the day of $67.70, a low of $59.00 for a closing price at $59.73; Monsanto Corporation (MON) gained 7.13 points with a high on the day of $100.94, a low of $106.33 for a closing price at $104.26; MF Global Limited (MF) gained 0.72 points with a high on the day of $11.04, a low of $9.48 for a closing price at $9.97; Mastercard Incorporated (MA) shed 3.88 points with a high on the day of $230.35, a low of $214.75 for a closing price at $216.50; Mosaic Corporation (MOS) gained 1.31 points with a high on the day of $98.68, a low of $92.25 for a closing price at $93.32; CIT Group, Incorporated (CIT) gained 3.40 points with a high on the day of $14.77, a low of $10.30 for a closing price at $13.03.