SmarTrend(R) Midday Market Recap -- August 20, 2009

Last Updated: August 20th, 2009: 1:00 PM ET---The major US equity indices are trading with moderate gains, near session highs, as the morning's upbeat readings on Leading Economic Indicators and the Philadelphia Fed index outweighed a rise in initial jobless claims. US initial jobless claims rose 15,000 to a seasonally adjusted 576,000, from the prior week's upwardly revised 561,000. On the other hand, the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia's general economic index rose to 4.2 (vs. consensus estimates of -1.0), its highest level since November of '07, and up from negative 7.5 in July. Six of the ten indicators that make up the LEI for the U.S. increased and the index climbed 0.6% in July, according to the Conference Board. Meanwhile, corporate results were a mixed bag this morning as Sears (NASDAQ:SHLD) missed with an unexpected loss, and GameStop (NYSE:GME) also missed and guided lower. On the other hand, Barnes & Noble (NYSE:BKS) bested estimates and declared a quarterly dividend of 25 cents per share. Buckle (NYSE:BKE) also posted better-than-expected results and saw a rise in same-store-sales. The Dow Jones is trading 0.5% higher to 9,323, the Nasdaq is trading 0.7% higher to 1,983 and the S&P 500 is trading 0.8% higher to 1,005.

Write to Chip Brian at cbrian@tradethetrend.com

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