when it suddenly spiked (buy program on low volume?)
Conspiracies abound. Market needed to get prices down Friday for index and stock option settlements. All the brokerages had to scare people with downgrades on INTC and GE on valuations basis. Some poor slobs sold INTC still trusting the brokerages houses. Brokerage firms as just as behind the eight ball and need to suck up tech stocks cheap before profits rebound or at worrst case don't decline on top of major cost reduction programs already in place.
C is going to buy off government for $200 M fine for issuing upgrades on T so they could get business on wireless IPO offering. So current downgrades on valuations is just flip side where they get to make money by trying to cheapen stocks to pay for their excesses in the 90's.
Your so worried about this market that it is too high. There is some much cash now on the sidelines and a lot more in foreign hands then in 2000 that need somewhere to put it. The street got to do its best to make market the best dam casino in town to keep the people with money interested. T bills at 1.25% are not going to keep these Asian and Arab elite happy. They need their ENE INTC and CSCO to reinflate.
Someone told me that GS has 17% stake in RMBS now. That is more intriguing then spike in market at 2 PM.