Investors shuddered in horror as the market was dropping; with the Dow down 800 points in midday trading and finally closing at a better but still dismal 9,955.50, off -369.88 or -3.58%.
So, on this terrible day what if anything made a good showing of itself? Four stocks among the ones that I follow popped up.
Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL) closed at $98.14, up 1.07, or 1.10%. Apple needs no introduction to most readers of BloggingStocks or anyone breathing almost anywhere on the planet. Although the stock appears to be a fallen star for the time being and is down 51% for the year it managed to outshine almost everything else today. Apple has not traded at a P/E below it's projected growth rate in years so the bargain hunters were obviously interested.
East West Bancorp (NASDAQ: EWBC) closed at $15.69, up 0.61, or 4.05%. Some banking stocks are recovering nicely and this small California bank with business in the Asian community here and in China as well seems to be getting out from under the taint of the sector. It is one of the stocks I included in Chasing Value: Financial devastation? Still up but less. If I had to 'bank' on whether this stock is higher or lower in a years time I would say higher.
IRobot Corp (NYSE: IRBT) closed at $13.50 up 0.36 or 2.74%. the maker of small robotic home vacuum cleaners and military reconnaissance vehicles has been hovering between in a tight range for months. On this day when other companies were suffering it managed to eek out a gain.
Metropolitan Life (NYSE: MET) closed at $44.32, up 2.19, or 5.20%. which is nothing short of remarkable today. Now that AIG has tanked, I think it is the largest of the international life insurance companie and is no doubt chasing and getting some of American International Group's (NYSE: AIG) business. AIG was up a penny today too. Investors Seek Safety with MetLife.
Sheldon Liber is the CEO of a small private investment company and the principal for design and research at an architecture & planning firm. He writes the columns Chasing Value and Serious Money. DISCLOSURE: I currently own shares of IRBT.
