Dr. Kris'  Instablog

4:00 pm ET: Whew, what a day! If you don't know by now, the big buzz on Wall Street was the abrupt resignation of Citigroup's (C) CEO Vikram Pandit as well as the concommitant departure of the COO. Nobody's saying what really prompted Pandit's decision and some are worried that there may be more skeletons in Citi's closet yet to be found--quite an appropriate state of affairs considering this is the Halloween season. But you can be sure that Citi investors would much prefer a treat (such as share appreciation or a dividend increase) over a trick. Although this news came as a shock to many on Wall Street, it didn't hurt share price--in fact, the stock advanced 1.6% on heavy volume--a nice treat indeed for Citi shareholders.

The market extended its Monday rally despite the Citi news. Sector rotation was evident as investors continued to move out of regional banks--which have been doing very well--and into the big brokerage names. The regional bank etf (KRE) broke $28 resistance on very heavy volume (5x normal) while the financial etf (XLF) gained. This was due to the nice advances seen in some of its major holdings: Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A, BRK.B), JP Morgan (JPM), Citigroup (C), American Int'l (AIG).

Insurance was the most heavily populated industry appearing on the New Highs list. The biggest gainer in that group was Hilltop (HTH) jumping nearly 6%. Not surprisingly, the insurance etf (KIE) broke $44 resistance and appears to be on a collision course with it previous $46 high put in on February of 2011.

Vacation and leisure stocks are also seeing some sunshine. Shares of Cedar Fair (FUN), Carnival (CUK), and Six Flags (SIX) all chugged to new yearly highs.

Going global we don't need to look any further than our southern border. The Mexico fund (EWW) hit a new all-time high which is saying something since its been in existence for sixteen years (really!). Two south-of-the-border stocks worth mentioning are both involved in airport management: Grupo Aero CTR Norte (OMAB; $19.44) and GPO Aero Del Pac SAB (PAC; $46.59). Both of these issues broke out of long bases today and look poised to advance a lot further. For investors looking to add to their basket of international stocks, consider either of these but please note that they are both rather thinly traded (and do your due diligence before buying!).

Tonight is the second Presidential debate. A clear winner in this one could have market moving potential, especially among coal and solar stocks. Stay tuned!

Note to Subscribers: There is one new channeling stock and there will be a new Stock of the Day.