Alcoa Rumors Propels Dow 102 Higher

There are days that bring one to wonder where investors get their ideas and then there are days like this.

Amid speculation that a pair of Australian mining companies - BHP Billiton Ltd. and Rio Tinto PLC - each plan to offer as much as $40 billion to purchase American aluminum giant Alcoa (AA), the Dow Jones Industrials leapt out of the gate at the opening bell and never looked back.

The story, attributed to the London Times, citing unnamed sources, set the Dow ablaze in New York.

By the end of the day (after the market closed), the Washington Post was reporting that "few analysts believed the U.S. aluminum giant was about to be gobbled up."

My theory: These kinds of things are dreamt up and ginned up by sharpies inside the brokerages to make a quick killing in an overnight options trade and have little, if any, basis in reality. They're especially attractive during slow news periods.

Alcoa closed just a shade under 33 on Monday, but opened above 35 on Tuesday, peaking at 36.05 within the first hour of trading. It ended at the day at 35. February options expire on Friday.

While there's nothing ostensibly illegal about planting a story (though it's a thin line), it does create an uneven playing field for those in the know. Getting Alcoa to move 2 points on the open is no mean feat. The stock has ranged between 23 and 38 for nearly the past 4 years. It's not one of the more volatile stocks in the game. In fact, it's rather a dull trading vehicle.

The moral of this particular story is that market manipulation comes in all shapes and sizes. And, while no one is immune, a fraud can usually be spotted relatively easily.

If traders are this desperate to make a buck, we could be witness to the final snorts of this 52-month long bull market. Only the most hopeful would count on a continuation of this surge through the rest of the week.

Others will view today with a healthy dose of skepticism.

The Dow gained 102.30, the S&P added 10.89, but the Nasdaq lagged, gaining only 9.50, roughly half the gain, in percentage terms, of the other indices.

Oil changed course on Tuesday, gaining $1.25 to close at $59.06 though the price is largely being held aloft by continuing cold weather in the US Northeast. With Spring's warming just around the corner, and oil prices failing to overtop $60, the good news for drivers and homeowners is due shortly.