May 7, 2009 (FinancialWire) (By Philip Holmes) — Stocks ended the trading day higher on Wednesday. Investors saw little green shoots on the jobs front and looked forward to hearing some good news on the banks from Dr. Bernanke. Could B of A (NYSE: BAC) really only need another $34 billion?

The Dow Jones industrial average closed at 8,512.28, up by 101.63 points, while the S&P 500 index gained 15.73 points to end the trading session at 919.53. The Nasdaq composite index also finished higher, by 4.98 points, at 1,759.10.

April’s ADP Employment index indicated that private sector job losses may be slowing in the U.S. Private payrolls lost 491,000 during the month, better than March’s 708,000 decline. The U.S. government will weigh in with its own jobs numbers on Friday.

It may not matter: investors will still be reacting to the results of Ben Bernanke’s stress tests of 19 major banks. Those results will be posted today. Analysts, citing Bloomberg News reports, are expecting to hear that Bank of America, Citigroup, Wells Fargo, and GMAC are at elevated risk, and in need of capital infusion.

Bank of America is at the head of the treatment line. The bank is said to need $34 billion, while Wells Fargo will need $15 billion and GMAC will need $11.5 billion. Citigroup looks downright spry; it will need only $5 billion to float its toxic asset boat into the near future.

Bloomberg offers happier news on Goldman Sachs Group, American Express and Bank of New York Mellon. They’re part of the group that isn’t in need of assistance.

According to BusinessWeek’s reporting, Ben Bernanke says he is “satisfied” with the stress test data. The Federal Reserve chairman also sees signs that the housing market is bottoming.

The Investrend Earnings Calendar features Alliant Tech Systems (NYSE: ATK), expected at $2.11 a year ago versus $1.83 a year ago; Cameron (NYSE: CAM), expected at $0.57 versus $0.55 a year ago; Markel (NYSE: MKL), expected at $5.6 versus $7.08 a year ago; Mid-America Apartment (NYSE: MAA), expected at $0.95 versus $0.96 a year ago.

The Investrend Economics Calendar lists Chain Store Sales for April, Weekly Initial Jobless Claims (8:30 a.m.), Productivity Index for Q1 (8:30 a.m.), Fed Chairman Bernanke speaks (9:30 a.m.), Treasury auctions 30-year bonds (1 p.m.), Consumer Credit for March (3 p.m.).

The Investrend Events Calendar showcases BTU Annual Meeting of Shareholders; CCBG, MSL, TRMK, SUPR at Gulf South Bank Conference; CMG, HTBK, INTU, CNQR at D.A. Davidson & Co. Financial Services Conference; MRO, ALJ, WNR, LAZ at Argyle Executive Forum Leadership in Oil & Gas Houston Conference; POT Shareholders Meeting; UBS at New York Society of Security Analysts Manager Search and Selection Conference; VZ Shareholders Meeting.

The Investrend Money Index is an indicator of the depth of market direction or indirection. While not always including the same stocks, the NYSE/NASDAQ 50 Most Actives indicate the direction in which the mass of money is flowing. Last session’s trading showed 30 advancers versus 17 decliners and three unchanged. Advancers were led by Financial Bull 3x (NYSE: FAS) up 19.41%, Bk Of America Cp (NYSE: BAC) up 17.07%, Citigroup Inc (NYSE: C) up 16.62%, Wells Fargo & Co New (NYSE: WFC) up 15.59%, Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ: FITB) up 15.49%, Huntington Bancshares Incorpora (NASDAQ: HBAN) up 15.00%, Ultra Financials Pro (NYSE: UYG) up 12.81%, Walt Disney-Disney C (NYSE: DIS) up 11.75%, Dryships Inc. (NASDAQ: DRYS) up 9.97%, Ultra Real Estate Pr (NYSE: URE) up 7.24%, Ford Motor Co (NYSE: F) up 7.01%, Jp Morgan Chase Co (NYSE: JPM) up 6.89%, Amer Intl Group Inc (NYSE: AIG) up 6.36%, Regions Financial Cp (NYSE: RF) up 6.19%. Decliners followed American Capital, Ltd. (NASDAQ: ACAS) down 31.38%, Financial Bear 3x (NYSE: FAZ) down 19.84%, Oceanfreight Inc. (NASDAQ: OCNF) down 15.43%, Ultrashort Financial (NYSE: SKF) down 12.59%, Gen Motors (NYSE: GM) down 10.27%, Las Vegas Sands Corp (NYSE: LVS) down 9.61%, Atmel Corporation (NASDAQ: ATML) down 8.80%, M G M Mirage (NYSE: MGM) down 7.97%, Dow Chemical (NYSE: DOW) down 6.98%.

Vote in the Investrend Poll Question of the Day at Investrend Information (http://www.investrendinformation.com).

Investrend Website of the Day: http://www.2camels.com/o-henry-pun-off-world-championships.php

Quote of the Day: “Ah, but a man’s reach should exceed his grasp, or what’s a heaven for?” Robert Browning

Today is: Join Hands Day, National Home Brewer’s Day, O. Henry Pun-Off World Champinships, National Roasted Leg of Lamb Day.

Happy Birthday: Robert Browning, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Johannes Brahms, George ‘Gabby’ Hayes, Gary Cooper, Edwin H. Land, Eva Peron, Darren McGavin, Anne Baxter, Totie Fields, Teresa Brewer, Johnny Unitas.

Today in History: Joan of Arc ended the Siege of Orléans in 1429, pulling an arrow from her own shoulder and returning wounded to lead the final charge. Ludwig van Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony debuted to the world in 1824 in Vienna, Austria, conducted by Michael Umlauf, under the deaf composer’s supervision. The Great Natchez Tornado, the second deadliest tornado in U.S. history, struck Natchez, Mississippi, in 1840 killing 317 people. In Philadelphia, the American Medical Association (AMA) was founded in 1847. Space Shuttle Endeavour was launched on its maiden voyage (STS-49) in 1992.

[FirstAlert^TM was created by Gayle Essary, founder of Investrend Communications, Inc., parent of Investrend Information (http://www.investrendinformation.com). The opinions expressed in FirstAlert^TM do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Investrend.]

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