Was That A Late Day Bear Raid?

The market was doing okay, but it looked like in the last 20 minutes of trading, the bears came out with a raid and successfully knocked it down. That's how they try to keep the budding optimism of the bulls at bay. Don't think this stuff happens? Talk to some of the multi-billion dollar hedge funds with a bearish bias.

Despite the modest declines, investor pessimism in the options market soared again. The CBOE put/call ratio was above 1.0 for the eleventh day, pushing the 10-day average to a new record high. Additionally, the ISEE nearly set its own record closing at 66 (the equivalent of a put/call of 1.52). The buildup of bearish bets is now back at levels from last May - Sept.

Oil rose more than a buck on the bearish inventory data (drawdowns), and closed around $61.82. The 10-year yield drifted lower throughout the day and closed just below the 4.50% level. Rememeber, lower yields could mean more refis and ease the subprime pressures.

Mid-caps stocks outperformed handily, but they were propped up by a strong energy complex. Tech lagged today, with the Nasdaq faring the worst of the major indexes.

As for the standout stocks, here is today's list:

• CNH
• SMSI
• FARO
• GFIG
• ALGT
• PLL
• POT
• VIP
• DWSN
• CPRT
• PGNX
• HLYS
• ISCA
• CPA
• AEOS
• MVSN
• ICE