Morning Spy: Markets Dive, But Bright Spots in China (LYV, OUTD, YONG, GRO, HTM, NGLPF, RENN, SINA, NXTM, RMTI, C, XOM, CVX, BP, ESV, JPM, WFC, SNE, LMT)

Stocks have given back their gains from yesterday and then some. With little economic news on tap today to justify a trading catalyst it would appear traders are taking profits thus far through trading on Friday.

Today’s Top tickerspy Indexes:

The Events and Themepark Stocks Index is gaining 1.2%: Shares of Live Nation Entertainment (LYV) are dancing higher by the tune of 5% after the Associated Press reported that the company’s chairman and largest shareholder may take the company private. Shares of Outdoor Channel Holdings (OUTD) are up 1% on the day.

The Chinese Agriculture Stocks Index is up 0.5% on the day : The Index is being led by Yongye International (YONG), up 10% after the company announced it closed on a $50 million private equity deal with Morgan Stanley. Also contributing are shares of Agria (GRO), up 1% on the day.

The Geothermal Stocks Index is up 0.4% today: Shares of U.S. Geothermal Inc. (HTM) are leading the way, up 2% with shares of Nevada Geothermal Power (NGLPF) up marginally.

The Chinese Internet Stocks Index is gaining 0.3%: After falling for several days in a row shares of Renren (RENN) and SINA (SINA) are making a comeback today, up 3% and 2%, respectively, after Piper Jaffray said the recent pullback in Sina shares represents a buying opportunity.

The Dialysis and Kidney Stocks Index is also gaining today, up 0.3%: The Index is being led by NxStage Medical (NXTM) which is up an impressive 6% after JP Morgan upgraded the stock to overweight . Rockwell Medical Tech (RMTI) is tacking on a gain of 2% for the day as well.

Today’s Top Market Headlines

Citigroup Blames Uncounted $800 Billion for Unstable Market: Muni Credit: Citigroup (C) analysts say there’s something missing from the Federal Reserve’s tally of the municipal-bond market’s size: more than $700 billion of the securities were bought directly by individual investors.

Exxon Mobil (XOM) Dividend Stock Analysis: ExxonMobil (XOM) has paid uninterrupted dividends on its common stock since 1882 and increased payments to common shareholders every year for 28 years. Major competitors to Exxon Mobil are Chevron (CVX) and BP (BP).

Ensco, U.S. Settle Lawsuit Alleging Delays in Deep-Water Drilling Permits: Ensco (ESV) and the U.S. Justice Department settled a lawsuit claiming federal regulators intentionally delayed deep-water drilling after lifting a moratorium.

Iceland Foods Profit Gains 15% as U.K. Retailer Adds Stores: Iceland Foods Group Ltd., the U.K.- based frozen-food chain whose majority owner is seeking a buyer, reported a 15 percent increase in full-year earnings as it opened stores and added new products to win customers.

Fed May Review Capital for More Banks: The Federal Reserve may expand its annual review of bank capital beyond the 19 largest financial institutions to push rigorous risk-management standards into more banks, according to people familiar with the discussions. The Federal Reserve currently oversees institutions like JP Morgan Chase (JPM) and Wells Fargo (WFC).

Companies That Can’t Keep Your Secrets: Demand for Mitnick’s services as security consultant – a legitimate one — is on the rise because corporate America is growing concerned about the recent rash of cyber attacks on high-profile targets such as Citigroup, Sony (SNE), Lockheed Martin (LMT) and RSA.

Tags: BP, C, CVX, ESV, GRO, HTM, JPM, LMT, LYV, NGLPF, NXTM, OUTD, RENN, RMTI, SINA, SNE, WFC, XOM, YONG