Tech stocks were mostly higher today. The broader indexes of the DJIA and S&P 500 were too close to call until the final minutes of trading. The markets were just that choppy today, even despite the rise seen in Asian markets.

Here were today's closing bell levels:

Dow Jones 12,268.19 -5.07 (-0.04%)
S&P 500 1,332.32 +3.17 (0.24%)
Nasdaq 2,817.18 +7.74 (0.28%)

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Friday was one of those days that a solid read from the University of Michigan took the back seat to overseas news. Mubarek is out as Egypt's president and some of the regional shares rallied. The market is still confounding the bears. Such is life.

Here were today's closing bell levels:

Dow Jones 12,273.26 +43.97 (0.36%)
S&P 500 1,329.16 +7.29 (0.55%)
Nasdaq 2,809.44 +18.99 (0.68%)

China raised rates and US housing prices went down yet again. We even had yet another round of fund managers outed in the ongoing waves of insider trading charges. Somehow, some way, equities in the U.S. still made gains in what will be a seven day streak.

Here were Tuesday's unofficial closing bell levels:

Dow Jones 12,233.15 +71.52 (0.59%)
S&P 500 1,324.57 +5.52 (0.42%)
Nasdaq 2,797.05 +13.06 (0.47%)

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Two multi-billion dollar acquisitions boosted the market open this morning, as did Thomson Reuters data that 72% of S&P 500 companies that have reported earnings results so far have posted better than expected profits. Investment bank UBS also raised its target for the S&P 500 index from 1,325 to 1,425. The rise in equities has cooled crude oil prices, now down below $88/barrel. Gold is also down slightly on the strength of the equity market. In the currency markets, softness in the German manufacturing sector has sent the euro lower against the dollar.

Here are the numbers for late afternoon trading today:

Dow Jones 12,161.55 +69.40 (0.57%)
S&P 500 1,319.04 +8.17 (0.62%)
Nasdaq 2,783.99 +14.69 (0.53%)

Stocks went above 12,000 on the DJIA and 1300 on the S&P 500 Index yesterday but the indexes were fighting over whether they wanted to close in the red or in the black this Wednesday. A preliminary report from ADP on employment did not do much to help out, and fresh violence between protesters in Egypt may have added some skepticism. Fortunately, Puxatawny Phil said Spring is on the way.

Here were today's closing bells:

Dow Jones 12,041.97 +1.81 (0.02%)
S&P 500 1,304.03 -3.56 (-0.27%)
Nasdaq 2,750.16 -1.03 (-0.04%)

Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Despite the turmoil in the Middle East, the market powered to a 30-month high, closing above 12,000 Tuesday. The key driver was a slew of strong earnings reports. The last time we saw Dow 12,000 was on June 19, 2008. Across the board, the major averages were strong. The Dow climbed 148.23 to 12,040.16, S & P 500 rose 21.47 to 1307.59, and the NASDAQ surged 51.11 to 2751.19, as reported in the Wall Street Journal.

Here are just a few stocks that moved the Dow higher:

• Pfizer (PFE) rose $1.00 to $19.22. Fourth-quarter profit tripled from a year ago.

"About 3,600 companies trade on exchanges operated by NASDAQ OMX Group (NDAQ), where an average of 8.8 billion shares changes hands each day," says Richard Moroney.

The editor of Dow Theory Forecasts explains, "The company controls about two-thirds of trades involving NASDAQ securities and half of NYSE securities. It also holds about one-third of the U.S. options-trading market.

"Over the last five years, NASDAQ's revenue rose at an annualized rate of 32%, with operating cash flow up 43%.

In the wake of Friday's drastic pullback in the stock market, it looks like at least one trader is banking on more short-term volatility. Bright and early Monday, a spread speculator constructed a long straddle on the PowerShares QQQ Trust (QQQQ), with the trader hoping to capitalize on a substantial price swing over the next several weeks.

Specifically, the trader purchased a block of 1,205 February 56 calls, and simultaneously bought a matching block of 1,205 February 56 puts. QQQQ was hovering right at $55.69 at the time of these transactions, placing both strikes very near the money.

The DJIA poked its nose well above 12,000 this morning and may indeed close above that mark when today's session ends. There was a bit of encouraging housing news to offset a weak unemployment number, but stocks were more interesting to traders today than either oil or commodities. Crude oil traded off by about -$1.70 and closed below $86/barrel. Gold also fell today, to below $1,320.

Here are the numbers for late afternoon trading today:

Dow Jones: 11,989.83 +4.39 (0.04%)
S&P 500: 1,299.54 +2.91 (0.22%)
Nasdaq: 2,755.28 +15.78 (0.58%)

Markets opened lower this morning, with the DJIA down around 70 points before noon as it pulled back from near 12,000. Earnings reports from some blue-chip stocks were lukewarm to poor, contributing to the slide. News that President Obama will propose a federal spending freeze and a ban on congressional earmarks provided a bit of an up-tick in the early afternoon, but not enough to overcome the earlier decline. Crude oil is trading below $87/barrel and gold is down -$13/oz, to $1,331.50, its lowest level in nearly three months.

Here are the unofficial numbers for late afternoon trading today:

Dow Jones 11,977.19 -3.33 (-0.03%)
S&P 500 1,291.18 +0.34 (0.03%)
Nasdaq 2,719.25 +1.70 (0.06%)

Two of the three major indexes opened higher on a solid earnings report from General Electric Company (GE), although a quarterly loss from Bank of America Corporation (BAC) and weak earnings from Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) kept a lid on the rise. Oil prices have continued to decline today, trading below $89.50. Gold prices, too, have posted a second-day of falling prices, though today's drop is modest compared with yesterday's dive. In the currency markets, the euro has gained against the dollar for a second day in a row.

Here are the unofficial closing bell numbers for today:

Dow Jones: 11,871.84 +49.04 (0.41%)
S&P 500: 1,283.35 +3.09 (0.24%)
Nasdaq: 2,689.54 -14.75 (-0.55%)

Government reports that the US inflation rate came in at 1.5% for 2010 (or just 0.1% excluding energy and food prices) produced little enthusiasm in the markets. Even a 0.4% increase in retail sales during the holiday season didn't give traders a push. Probably because they were expecting better. Both oil and gold prices have fallen today, and the dollar is slipping against the euro as currency traders judge that US consumers just don't have the heart to spend in a big way. US markets are closed Monday in observance of the birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr.

Here are the numbers for early afternoon trading today:

Dow Jones: 11,787.38 +55.48 (0.47%)
S&P 500: 1,293.24 +9.48 (0.74%)
Nasdaq: 2,755.30 +20.01 (0.73%)

The shares of Nvidia (NVDA) have been tearing up the charts in 2011, thanks to a lucrative settlement with Intel (INTC) and a high-profile new partnership with ARM Holdings (ARMH). The month of January isn't quite half-over yet, but the stock is already sitting on a year-to-date gain of 51.6%.

Judging by at least one headline hitting the wires, the stock's rapid rise is making some analysts nervous. However, on Wednesday, one upbeat options trader placed a bet on additional upside from NVDA during the near term.

Equity markets opened slightly lower this morning and have wobbled back up somewhat, with the NASDAQ off just 0.01%, the S&P 500 index off -0.27%, and the DJIA down -0.44% about an hour before the markets close for the day. The euro sunk to a near four-month low to the US dollar on yet more fears about Portugal's sovereign debt. Gold has gained nearly 4% today and oil is up 1.26% on supply concerns due to the shutdown of the Alaska pipeline, which delivers 630,000 barrels/day to the lower 48 states.

Here are the numbers for late afternoon trading today:

Dow Jones: 11,637.37 -37.39 (-0.32%)
S&P 500: 1,269.75 -1.75 (-0.14%)
Nasdaq: 2,707.80 +4.63 (0.17%)

Thursday was marked by mixed markets with technology stocks higher and the rest of the market mixed to lower. The dollar was up and both oil and gold were down. A lackluster jobless claims might have taken away some of the zing that the ADP and TrimTabs data showed for employment trends ahead of Friday's non-Farm Payrolls and unemployment rate due Friday morning. Still, many key names were on the move today.

Here are the unofficial closing bell levels:

Dow Jones 11,697.31 -25.58 (-0.22%)
S&P 500 1,273.85 -2.71 (-0.21%)
Nasdaq 2,709.89 +7.69 (0.28%)