The Dow Rallies Late to Avoid a Big Drop

What a crazy day it was for the Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEX: ^DJI) , which crawled nearly all the way back to even today after dropping more than 190 points in early trading. Europe was the main catalyst for the drop early in the day, as investors continued to worry about the possibility of Greece's exit from the eurozone. But the day turned around late as optimism reigned that the Greece fears were overblown, and more positive U.S. housing data was digested. Individually, Bank of America (NYS: BAC) was the biggest winner on the day, while Intel (NYS: INTC) and Microsoft were dragged down by Dell's poor earnings and concern about demand for PCs. Outside the Dow, Facebook (NAS: FB) finally had a positive day, gaining 3.2%, but is still down 23.9% since its IPO on Friday. While it's important to pay close attention to the market, it's also important to not to get too worked up about what happens in the short term. The most successful stock picks are usually great businesses that grow over time. Our analysts have uncovered one such company in our new report, "The Motley Fool's Top Stock for 2012." It highlights a company that is revolutionizing commerce in Latin America. You can get instant access to the name of this company by clicking here -- it's absolutely free.

At the time thisarticle was published Brendan Byrnes owns no shares of any company mentioned above. The Motley Fool owns shares of Intel, Bank of America, and Microsoft.Motley Fool newsletter serviceshave recommended buying shares of Intel, Dell, and Microsoft, creating a diagonal call position in Wal-Mart Stores, and creating a bull call spread position in Microsoft. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy. We Fools don't all hold the same opinions, but we all believe thatconsidering a diverse range of insightsmakes us better investors. Try any of our Foolish newsletter servicesfree for 30 days.

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