I sold my little CIT and Freddie Mac (FRE) stakes yesterday into the strength at the end of the day. I don’t not believe in their future prospects, but I’ll take quick gains in the face of future uncertainty.

As a whole, the rally looked like short-covering to me… The parabolic gains heading into the close are one indicator, as people aren’t usually as eager to initiate new long positions at ever-higher prices as they are willing to cover their shorts. Also, the performance seen yesterday from dogs like Crocs (CROX) indicates that many shorts may have thrown in the towel.

I’m still holding USO $104 Jul puts, and I’ll see the value of that decline today as oil seems to be recovering modestly. If the inventory report at 10:30 is super bearish, oil should continue its slide; otherwise, it too may be pumped back up.

Editor’s Note: Despite crude inventories coming in lower than expected (bullish), oil prices fell today.