Stocks Rise as Mubarak Prepares to Exit

The market is pushing higher in Thursday’s session, erasing pre-market losses amid reports that Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak is set to step down. Protests have spread throughout the country form their epicenter in Tahrir Square, Cairo, and many government workers are threatening to strike if the much maligned dictator does not step down immediately. He is expected to speak to the nation later today. The Market Vectors Egypt Index ETF (EGPT) is up 4% on the news.

One of the big stories in the market today is the fall of Cisco Systems, Inc. (CSCO). For the second consecutive quarter, the networking giant produced disappointing earnings and margins, and is being outpaced by smaller, nimbler competitors. The stock has continued lower after dropping off sharply overnight, and is currently off 13%.

In other earnings news, Akamai Technologies, Inc. (AKAM) is also trading sharply lower after a disappointing earnings report, down 16% on the day. The rest of the cloud sector, however, is not sharing in Akamai’s sorrows. Highly ranked IBD stock Riverbed Technologies, Inc. (RVBD) is up more than 5% on the day to highlight the sector’s strong stocks.

Rare earth stocks continue to pull-in after a recent strong run, with one notable exception. Group leader Molycorp, Inc. (MCP) is down nearly 4% on the day, but Avalon Rare Earth Metals, Inc. (AVL) is up 2.5%. AVL has outperformed the rest of the group in recent days, testing previous highs before pulling off slightly.

It feels like the January effect has become the Monday effect, and at the end of each week we are starting to see Santa Claus rallies. The perennial Monday morning gap up seems to be leading investors to get to the party a day or two early, and the feedback loop goes on. At each small dip in the market, we are seeing buyers aggressively step in.

Disclosure: No positions

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