Tag: stock market

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NASDAQ hits 13 year high as tensions ease on Syria

Stocks ended higher Tuesday with the tech-laden Nasdaq composite hitting a 13-year high and the Dow Jones industrial average adding nearly 130 points as concerns about Syria eased.

The Dow Jones closed up 129 points, 0.9%, to 15,192 — a four week high, and the benchmark Standard & Poor’s 500 index gained 12 points, 0.7%, to end at 1,684 — also a four-week high.

The Nasdaq closed up 23 points, 0.6%, to 3,729, its highest close since 2000 and 5 points shy of an all-time closing high.

More at USA Today

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President Obama – WORST “Socialist” Ever

Chart via New York Times

Stock markets soared today on the news that U.S. home prices saw their best annual rise in seven years, and consumer confidence got another boost.

Through Friday, more than 52 months after President Obama took office, the S&P 500 index was up 105 percent during his term in office, for a compound annual gain of 18 percent.

Worst. Socialist. Ever.

Read more at Maddow Blog.

(tipped by TRR reader Channing)

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Stock market falls on European economy forecasts

With the election over, stock traders’ turned their attention to the European economy, currently being dragged down by a debt crisis for more than three years.

U.S. stock futures were higher overnight after Obama cruised to victory. They turned sharply lower after the European forecasts and discouraging comments from Mario Draghi, president of the European Central Bank. European markets turned negative as well.

The European Commission, the executive arm of the EU, said that it expects the region’s economic output to shrink 0.3 percent this year. In the spring, the group predicted no change.

Now that the U.S. election has been resolved, it’s natural for traders to focus on Europe’s problems, said Peter Tchir, who manages the hedge fund TF Market Advisors.

What they’re tuning in to, he said, is the failure of a major European summit last week and minimal progress on the issues that are holding the region back.

“People can only digest one or two stories at a time, and people had put Europe on the back burner” before the election, he said.

(source)

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Stock market surges to best day of 2012

Stocks jumped Wednesday, chalking up their strongest day of 2012, as signs of moves in Europe to rescue Spain’s troubled banks sparked a rebound from recent selling.

The Dow Jones industrial average closed with a gain of 287 points. The broader S&P 500 and the technology-focused Nasdaq composite index also rallied strongly.

A gloomy jobs report and signs of a global economic slowdown hammered Wall Street Friday, wiping out the stock market’s gains for 2012. However, Wednesday’s advance lifted stocks back into positive territory for 2012.

Signs of urgent moves in Europe also boosted stocks.

European sources said German and European Union officials sought solutions for Spain’s weakened banks, the latest worry in the fiscally troubled euro zone, although Madrid has not yet requested assistance and is resisting political conditions.

Adding to the slightly more upbeat news on the economy, the Federal Reserve said in its Beige Book summary that U.S. economic growth picked up over the two prior months and hiring showed signs of a modest increase.

Read more at MSNBC.com

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Dow Jones closes over 13,000 – first time since May 2008

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed today over 13,000 for the first time since May 19, 2008.

The stock market is now up over 56 percent since Obama took office. Today, the stock market was buoyed, in the view of one economist, by “job and income gains…leading to higher confidence and spending growth, in turn driving further spending gains.” Here’s how the stock market has fared under our last three presidents:

Remember – the GOP Presidential candidates are campaigning on the idea that “the country is headed in the wrong direction.” So I’m guessing they’d rather the stock market DROP as it did under President Bush?

The success of the stock market under Obama is particularly notable considering the majority of Republicans believe he is a “socialist,” presumably out to destroy private enterprise.
(via ThinkProgress.org)

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Stocks soar on Black Friday sales figures

A strong start to the U.S. shopping season and new hope for a far-reaching solution to Europe’s debt crisis sent stocks sharply higher. The Dow Jones industrial average jumped 291 points, or 2.6 percent, to 11,523.

Retail stocks jumped Monday after a record number of shoppers bought gifts over Thanksgiving weekend, a make-or-break time for many retailers. For the past six years, Black Friday has been the biggest retail sales day of the year.

European markets also soared as leaders there discussed new approaches for containing the region’s debt troubles. Investors hope the recent spike in borrowing costs for European countries will spur the region’s leaders to take decisive action.

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Stocks see biggest gain in over a month

U.S. stocks saw their biggest gains in over a month after European leaders signaled a willingness to tackle the financial crisis brewing there.

The Dow Jones industrial average ended Monday up 330.06 points, or 3%, to 11,433.18. The broader Standard & Poor’s 500 index jumped 3.4%, or 39.43 points, to 1,194.89.

Over the weekend, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel announced in Berlin that they would come up with a plan to help stabilize and recapitalize struggling European banks. They gave few specifics but said a definite plan would be ready by a Nov. 3 meeting of the Group of 20.
(via LAtimes)