On December 6, I announced the TSD 5 index, a collection of five stocks that I picked mostly based upon my gut feeling about the company. Here’s what was in the index on December 6:
Apple (AAPL, @ 90.01)
Hasbro (HAS, @ 27.19)
Whirlpool (WHR, @ 86.70)
Riverbed Technology (RVBD, @ 32.65)
Lowe’s (LOW, @ 31.64)

Let’s see how we’re doing.

Apple (AAPL)
December 6: 90.01
January 1: 84.84
Change: -5.76%

Apple’s sales fell mostly due to fear over Microsoft’s Zune, an underwhelming iPhone (from LinkSys?), and fears about declining iTunes Music Store sales. After Christmas, these worries were alleviated: iTunes saw a huge surge in popularity, while the Zune’s unit sales were flat. I still feel good about this one.

Hasbro (HAS)
December 6: 27.19
January 1: 27.25
Change: +0.22%

Pretty uneventful period for Hasbro.

Whirlpool (WHR)
December 6: 86.70
January 1: 83.02
Change: -4.24%

There was a pretty strong sell-off in mid-December based on whispers of bad earnings, but those were quelled and the stock recovered somewhat.

Riverbed Technology (RVBD)
December 6: 32.65
January 1: 30.70
Change: -5.97%

This is a newer stock, and I picked it right before a small profit-taking, but the business is still doing very well. It just sold a bunch of wireless equipment to Hilton Hotels, among other deals.

Lowe’s (LOW)
December 6: 31.64
January 1: 31.15
Change: -1.55%

Largely uneventful period for Lowe’s, but it was given some improved analyst ratings.

Overall, it wasn’t good. Only one of the five stocks was up and, as a whole, I was down about 4%. Here’s the damage:

Apple (AAPL, @ 84.84, -5.76%)
Hasbro (HAS, @ 27.25, +0.22%)
Whirlpool (WHR, @ 83.02, -4.24%)
Riverbed Technology (RVBD, @ 30.70, -5.97%)
Lowe’s (LOW, @ 31.64, -1.55%)
Overall: 257.45, -4.00%

Ouch. There’s a reason I don’t pick stocks for a living. I still believe in the companies, so I’ll take a few looks throughout the year to see how they’re doing.