CLOSING BELL

Dow 10193.39  +125.38, Nasdaq 2229.04  +25.03, S&P 1087.69  +16.10 

Stocks started out of the gate this morning to the negative side and it looked like today was going to be a repeat of yesterday’s selloff.  But soon the buyer’s stepped in looking for bargains and pushed the market higher.

The buying can be attributed to Germany’s approval to support the EU’s bailout package and reports that the EU may take further measures to stop the euro's fall.

Financials were higher today and the gain was accelerated as short sellers covered their short positions. The financial sector had fallen more than -11% during the previous six trading days and many traders expected further downside. Instead, financials finished with a +3.6% gain.

Treasuries during trading today saw the yield on the 10-year Note fall to 3.10% a multi month low before closing at 3.20%.

Gold continued to give up ground as prices fell -1.0% to $1176.50 per ounce, which puts it nearly $75 below the record high of $1249.70 per ounce that was registered exactly one week ago.

Trading volume rocketed as a result of the stock market's swings and the options expiration.  Roughly 2.3 billion shares traded on the NYSE this today.  That's nearly double the 200-day average of 1.2 billion shares for the Big Board.

Advancing Sectors: Financials +3.6%, Materials +2.5%, Consumer Discretionary +1.9%, Energy +1.7%, Industrials +1.5%, Tech +1.0%, Utilities +0.6%, Consumer Staples +0.4%, Health Care +0.3%, Telecom +0.3%
Declining Sectors: None