NYSE Dow Jones finished today at:

[bigdog]

NYSE Dow Jones finished today at:
Source: http://finance.yahoo.com

Financial stocks suffered some of the day's worst declines: Bank of America plunged 24.3 percent and Citigroup fell 19 percent. Those two components of the Dow Jones industrial average contributed to a daily loss in the index of 290 points, or 3.6 percent. That was the biggest Dow drop since early March, before the market's big rally from nearly 12-year lows.

Long-present unease about soured loans bubbled over on Monday after Bank of America Corp. said it set aside $13.4 billion to cover lending losses, even as it posted a profit for the first quarter, and as anxiety grew about the results of the government's "stress tests" to determine if banks will need more government bailout money.

While Bank of America and other big banks like Citigroup Inc. have fared better so far this year than many believed they would, nervousness is growing now over the massive losses from defaulting loans that are yet to come. On Sunday, White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel said some banks will need help.


The NYSE DOW closed LOWER -289.60 points -3.56% on Monday April 20
Sym Last........ ........Change..........
Dow 7,841.73 -289.60 -3.56%
Nasdaq 1,608.21 -64.86 -3.88%
S&P 500 832.39 -37.21 -4.28%
30-yr Bond 3.6870% -0.0980

NYSE Volume 8,281,374,500 (prior day 7,765,555,000)
Nasdaq Volume 3,110,583,500 (prior day 2,390,625,500)

Europe
Symbol... Last...... .....Change.......
FTSE 100 3,990.86 -101.94 -2.49%
DAX 4,486.30 -190.54 -4.07%
CAC 40 2,969.40 -122.56 -3.96%

Asia
Symbol..... Last...... .....Change.......
Nikkei 225 8,924.75 +17.17 +0.19%
Hang Seng 15,750.91 +149.64 +0.96%
Straits Times 1,874.85 -21.71 -1.14%

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Wall-Street-tumbles-as-apf-14977865.html
Wall Street tumbles as investors dump financials

Investors dump financial shares on worries about trouble on bank balance sheets

* Tim Paradis, AP Business Writer
* Monday April 20, 2009, 5:56 pm EDT

Long-present unease about soured loans bubbled over on Monday after Bank of America Corp. said it set aside $13.4 billion to cover lending losses, even as it posted a profit for the first quarter, and as anxiety grew about the results of the government's "stress tests" to determine if banks will need more government bailout money.

While Bank of America and other big banks like Citigroup Inc. have fared better so far this year than many believed they would, nervousness is growing now over the massive losses from defaulting loans that are yet to come. On Sunday, White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel said some banks will need help.

Financial stocks suffered some of the day's worst declines: Bank of America plunged 24.3 percent and Citigroup fell 19 percent. Those two components of the Dow Jones industrial average contributed to a daily loss in the index of 290 points, or 3.6 percent. That was the biggest Dow drop since early March, before the market's big rally from nearly 12-year lows.

Joe Saluzzi, co-head of equity trading at Themis Trading LLC, said traders are skeptical about bank earnings and believe the better-than-expected profit reports may be disguising problems.

"They're looking at bank numbers and are saying they are not that great," Saluzzi said.

Traders have been looking for some pullback ever since the Dow jumped 24 percent from its early March lows. But that pullback could end up being more significant than a mere correction if the market cannot shake its concerns about banks. With the stress test results expected in early May, the market is likely to see more volatility.

Worries about banks' debt problems were aggravated by news reports that their lending remains tight and that the government may swap its debt in banks for ownership stakes as its $700 billion bailout fund runs down.

Because of the central role lending plays in keeping businesses of all kinds going, investors have been hunting for signs of a recovery in banks before they get more optimistic about the broader economy.

The market has been encouraged by early indications that a government drive for lower interest rates has been helping banks step up lending, but investors are still sensitive to any signs of trouble -- including the comments from Emanuel and senior White House adviser David Axelrod, who said some banks "are going to have very serious problems."

Energy and materials companies also fell along with the prices of key commodities they rely on, such as crude oil.

The market declines were broad and deep, outweighing what would otherwise be positive news about a step-up in deal activity. After a deal with IBM Corp. didn't work out, troubled technology company Sun Microsystems found a buyer in Oracle, a leading maker of business software, while PepsiCo Inc. said it would bid $6 billion to buy its two biggest bottlers.

The Dow fell 289.60, or 3.6 percent, to 7,841.73.

Broader stock indicators also lost ground. The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 37.21, or 4.3 percent, to 832.39, and the Nasdaq composite index fell 64.86, or 3.9 percent, to 1,608.21.

About 10 stocks fell for every one that rose on the New York Stock Exchange, where consolidated volume came to 6.79 billion shares, down from 7.1 billion shares on Friday.

Concerns about the sustainability of bank earnings weighed on financial stocks. Citigroup Inc. lost 71 cents to $2.94; JPMorgan Chase & Co. fell $3.57 or 10.7 percent to $29.69 and American Express Co. fell $2.83 or 13 percent to $18.98.

Jeffrey Frankel, president of Stuart Frankel & Co. in New York, said the retreat in financial stocks is welcome after their massive gains from early March -- he said too sharp a rise could endanger a long-term advance. Many bank stocks have doubled in only weeks.

"These banks have had a tremendous run," Frankel said. "Now you're hearing the bearish camp speak up a little bit."

Investors are also cautious about financials after The New York Times reported that the government might be forced to find ways to stretch the $700 billion allocated for the government's bank rescue fund by converting the government's loans into common stock. Such a move would give the government a controlling stake in banks and hurt existing shareholders by reducing the value of their shares.

Separately, The Wall Street Journal reported that banks receiving government bailout money are having a hard time making loans.

Wall Street was more upbeat about the Oracle deal, which carries a 42 percent premium to Sun's Friday closing stock price of $6.69. Sun jumped $2.46 or 36.8 percent to $9.15, Oracle slipped 24 cents or 1.3 percent to $18.82.

Beverage and snack maker PepsiCo offered to acquire Pepsi Bottling Group and PepsiAmericas in a move to cut costs. Pepsi lost $2.27 or 4.4 percent to $49.86 while Pepsi Bottling jumped $5.53 or 22 percent to $30.73 and PepsiAmericas surged $5.16 or 26 percent $25.04.

In earnings news, drug maker Eli Lilly & Co.'s first-quarter earnings rose 24 percent on higher sales of the antidepressant Cymbalta and as costs for Humalog, a form of insulin Lilly makes, remained flat. Shares slipped 76 cents or 2.3 percent to $32.99.

Light, sweet crude fell $4.45 to $45.88 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. That helped send Occidental Petroleum Corp. down $3.76 or 6.3 percent to $55.88, while Dow Chemical Co. fell $1.12 or 8.9 percent to $11.48.

In other market moves, the Russell 2000 index of smaller companies fell 26.88, or 5.6 percent, to 452.49.

Bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 2.84 percent from 2.95 percent late Friday. The yield on the three-month T-bill fell to 0.12 percent from 0.13 percent.

The dollar was mostly higher against other major currencies. Gold prices rose.

Overseas, Japan's Nikkei stock average rose 0.19 percent. Britain's FTSE 100 fell 2.5 percent, Germany's DAX index fell 4.1 percent, and France's CAC-40 fell 4 percent.

 

[pilots]

NYSE Dow Jones finished today at:
Source: http://finance.yahoo.com

Financial stocks suffered some of the day's worst declines: Bank of America plunged 24.3 percent and Citigroup fell 19 percent. Those two components of the Dow Jones industrial average contributed to a daily loss in the index of 290 points, or 3.6 percent. That was the biggest Dow drop since early March, before the market's big rally from nearly 12-year lows.

Long-present unease about soured loans bubbled over on Monday after Bank of America Corp. said it set aside $13.4 billion to cover lending losses, even as it posted a profit for the first quarter, and as anxiety grew about the results of the government's "stress tests" to determine if banks will need more government bailout money.

While Bank of America and other big banks like Citigroup Inc. have fared better so far this year than many believed they would, nervousness is growing now over the massive losses from defaulting loans that are yet to come. On Sunday, White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel said some banks will need help.


The NYSE DOW closed LOWER -289.60 points -3.56% on Monday April 20
Sym Last........ ........Change..........
Dow 7,841.73 -289.60 -3.56%
Nasdaq 1,608.21 -64.86 -3.88%
S&P 500 832.39 -37.21 -4.28%
30-yr Bond 3.6870% -0.0980

NYSE Volume 8,281,374,500 (prior day 7,765,555,000)
Nasdaq Volume 3,110,583,500 (prior day 2,390,625,500)

Europe
Symbol... Last...... .....Change.......
FTSE 100 3,990.86 -101.94 -2.49%
DAX 4,486.30 -190.54 -4.07%
CAC 40 2,969.40 -122.56 -3.96%

Asia
Symbol..... Last...... .....Change.......
Nikkei 225 8,924.75 +17.17 +0.19%
Hang Seng 15,750.91 +149.64 +0.96%
Straits Times 1,874.85 -21.71 -1.14%

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Wall-Street-tumbles-as-apf-14977865.html
Wall Street tumbles as investors dump financials

Investors dump financial shares on worries about trouble on bank balance sheets

* Tim Paradis, AP Business Writer
* Monday April 20, 2009, 5:56 pm EDT

Long-present unease about soured loans bubbled over on Monday after Bank of America Corp. said it set aside $13.4 billion to cover lending losses, even as it posted a profit for the first quarter, and as anxiety grew about the results of the government's "stress tests" to determine if banks will need more government bailout money.

While Bank of America and other big banks like Citigroup Inc. have fared better so far this year than many believed they would, nervousness is growing now over the massive losses from defaulting loans that are yet to come. On Sunday, White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel said some banks will need help.

Financial stocks suffered some of the day's worst declines: Bank of America plunged 24.3 percent and Citigroup fell 19 percent. Those two components of the Dow Jones industrial average contributed to a daily loss in the index of 290 points, or 3.6 percent. That was the biggest Dow drop since early March, before the market's big rally from nearly 12-year lows.

Joe Saluzzi, co-head of equity trading at Themis Trading LLC, said traders are skeptical about bank earnings and believe the better-than-expected profit reports may be disguising problems.

"They're looking at bank numbers and are saying they are not that great," Saluzzi said.

Traders have been looking for some pullback ever since the Dow jumped 24 percent from its early March lows. But that pullback could end up being more significant than a mere correction if the market cannot shake its concerns about banks. With the stress test results expected in early May, the market is likely to see more volatility.

Worries about banks' debt problems were aggravated by news reports that their lending remains tight and that the government may swap its debt in banks for ownership stakes as its $700 billion bailout fund runs down.

Because of the central role lending plays in keeping businesses of all kinds going, investors have been hunting for signs of a recovery in banks before they get more optimistic about the broader economy.

The market has been encouraged by early indications that a government drive for lower interest rates has been helping banks step up lending, but investors are still sensitive to any signs of trouble -- including the comments from Emanuel and senior White House adviser David Axelrod, who said some banks "are going to have very serious problems."

Energy and materials companies also fell along with the prices of key commodities they rely on, such as crude oil.

The market declines were broad and deep, outweighing what would otherwise be positive news about a step-up in deal activity. After a deal with IBM Corp. didn't work out, troubled technology company Sun Microsystems found a buyer in Oracle, a leading maker of business software, while PepsiCo Inc. said it would bid $6 billion to buy its two biggest bottlers.

The Dow fell 289.60, or 3.6 percent, to 7,841.73.

Broader stock indicators also lost ground. The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 37.21, or 4.3 percent, to 832.39, and the Nasdaq composite index fell 64.86, or 3.9 percent, to 1,608.21.

About 10 stocks fell for every one that rose on the New York Stock Exchange, where consolidated volume came to 6.79 billion shares, down from 7.1 billion shares on Friday.

Concerns about the sustainability of bank earnings weighed on financial stocks. Citigroup Inc. lost 71 cents to $2.94; JPMorgan Chase & Co. fell $3.57 or 10.7 percent to $29.69 and American Express Co. fell $2.83 or 13 percent to $18.98.

Jeffrey Frankel, president of Stuart Frankel & Co. in New York, said the retreat in financial stocks is welcome after their massive gains from early March -- he said too sharp a rise could endanger a long-term advance. Many bank stocks have doubled in only weeks.

"These banks have had a tremendous run," Frankel said. "Now you're hearing the bearish camp speak up a little bit."

Investors are also cautious about financials after The New York Times reported that the government might be forced to find ways to stretch the $700 billion allocated for the government's bank rescue fund by converting the government's loans into common stock. Such a move would give the government a controlling stake in banks and hurt existing shareholders by reducing the value of their shares.

Separately, The Wall Street Journal reported that banks receiving government bailout money are having a hard time making loans.

Wall Street was more upbeat about the Oracle deal, which carries a 42 percent premium to Sun's Friday closing stock price of $6.69. Sun jumped $2.46 or 36.8 percent to $9.15, Oracle slipped 24 cents or 1.3 percent to $18.82.

Beverage and snack maker PepsiCo offered to acquire Pepsi Bottling Group and PepsiAmericas in a move to cut costs. Pepsi lost $2.27 or 4.4 percent to $49.86 while Pepsi Bottling jumped $5.53 or 22 percent to $30.73 and PepsiAmericas surged $5.16 or 26 percent $25.04.

In earnings news, drug maker Eli Lilly & Co.'s first-quarter earnings rose 24 percent on higher sales of the antidepressant Cymbalta and as costs for Humalog, a form of insulin Lilly makes, remained flat. Shares slipped 76 cents or 2.3 percent to $32.99.

Light, sweet crude fell $4.45 to $45.88 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. That helped send Occidental Petroleum Corp. down $3.76 or 6.3 percent to $55.88, while Dow Chemical Co. fell $1.12 or 8.9 percent to $11.48.

In other market moves, the Russell 2000 index of smaller companies fell 26.88, or 5.6 percent, to 452.49.

Bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 2.84 percent from 2.95 percent late Friday. The yield on the three-month T-bill fell to 0.12 percent from 0.13 percent.

The dollar was mostly higher against other major currencies. Gold prices rose.

Overseas, Japan's Nikkei stock average rose 0.19 percent. Britain's FTSE 100 fell 2.5 percent, Germany's DAX index fell 4.1 percent, and France's CAC-40 fell 4 percent.

A lot of traders are telling us alls well, I don't like the look of whats ahead of us.

 

[bigdog]

NYSE Dow Jones finished today at:
Source: http://finance.yahoo.com

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner convinced Wall Street to give banks another chance Tuesday.

Geithner's assertion that "the vast majority" of banks have enough capital pulled stocks from a slump that began with a sell-off Monday and spilled over into Tuesday morning. Geithner also told a congressional oversight committee that some banks would be allowed to repay financial bailout funds with the blessing of bank regulators.

The comments signaled that banks might not get poor marks in government "stress tests" designed to determine whether banks have enough capital to survive if the economy turns even worse. The results are due May 4.


The NYSE DOW closed HIGHER +127.83 points +1.63% on Tuesday April 21
Sym Last........ ........Change..........
Dow 7,969.56 +127.83 +1.63%
Nasdaq 1,643.85 +35.64 +2.22%
S&P 500 850.08 +17.69 +2.13%
30-yr Bond 3.7460% +0.0590

NYSE Volume 9,081,986,000 (prior day 8,281,374,500)
Nasdaq Volume 2,484,844,500 (prior day 3,110,583,500)


Europe
Symbol... Last...... .....Change.......
FTSE 100 3,987.46 -3.40 -0.09%
DAX 4,501.63 +15.33 +0.34%
CAC 40 2,973.94 +4.54 +0.15%

Asia
Symbol..... Last...... .....Change.......
Nikkei 225 8,711.33 -213.42 -2.39%
Hang Seng 15,285.89 -465.02 -2.95%
Straits Times 1,887.25 +12.40 +0.66%

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Banks...90729.html?sec=topStories&pos=1&asset=&ccode=

Banks pull stock market higher after sell-off

Banks pull market from slump after Geithner says 'vast majority' of them have enough capital

* Tim Paradis, AP Business Writer
* Tuesday April 21, 2009, 5:30 pm EDT

NEW YORK (AP) -- Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner convinced Wall Street to give banks another chance Tuesday.

Geithner's assertion that "the vast majority" of banks have enough capital pulled stocks from a slump that began with a sell-off Monday and spilled over into Tuesday morning. Geithner also told a congressional oversight committee that some banks would be allowed to repay financial bailout funds with the blessing of bank regulators.

The comments signaled that banks might not get poor marks in government "stress tests" designed to determine whether banks have enough capital to survive if the economy turns even worse. The results are due May 4.

"There is the hope that everything will be well after the stress test," said John Nichol, senior portfolio manager at Federated Investors.

The Dow Jones industrial average jumped 128 points after tumbling 290 points Monday on worries about bad debt at banks and the implications of the stress tests. The drop punctuated a six-week rally that lifted stocks more than 20 percent from their lowest levels in more than a decade.

Stocks fluctuated in the early going Tuesday after a string of lackluster earnings reports and forecasts stoked worries about how quickly the economy can recover.

Bank stocks, which led the market lower Monday, bounced back after the Geithner comments. JPMorgan Chase & Co. rose 9.6 percent, Citigroup Inc. jumped 10.2 percent, while Goldman Sachs Group Inc. rose 4.7 percent.

The fortunes of bank shares have largely dictated the stock market's direction since the fall of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. in mid-September, and investors took Geithner's comments as a reason to go back into the market. Some analysts attributed the buying to short covering, where investors have to buy stock after having earlier sold borrowed shares in a bet that the market would fall.

The Dow rose 127.83, or 1.6 percent, to 7,969.56.

Broader stock indicators showed the biggest gains. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 17.69, or 2.1 percent, to 850.08, and the Nasdaq composite index rose 35.64, or 2.2 percent, to 1,643.85.

Huntington Bancshares Inc. logged one of the more notable turnarounds. The regional bank fell as much as 26 percent in early trading before ending up 34 cents, or 10.9 percent, at $3.45.

The jump in most banks overshadowed mixed results from big-name companies. Coca-Cola Co. and drugmaker Merck & Co. posted results or issued forecasts that fell short of what the market expected. Wall Street was uneasy about some of the reports because analysts had set low expectations after a bruising January in which fourth-quarter results short-circuited a stock rally.

Coca-Cola fell $1.24, or 2.8 percent, to $43.09, after its first-quarter earnings fell 10 percent because of restructuring charges and write-downs. The beverage maker's earnings were in line with Wall Street's expectations but sales fell short.

Merck reported a 57 percent drop in first-quarter earnings because of a slide in both sales of its drugs and income from its partnership on cholesterol medicines. Merck fell $1.68, or 6.7 percent, to $23.54.

Investors moved into shares of Caterpillar Inc., DuPont and United Technologies Corp. after their reports.

Construction equipment maker Caterpillar posted better-than-expected earnings but reduced its forecast. Caterpillar rose 91 cents, or 3 percent, to $31.39.

DuPont said its first-quarter profit dropped on falling demand. The chemical company also cut its full-year forecast and said it will increase its efforts to cut fixed costs. DuPont rose $1.32, or 4.9 percent, to $28.06.

United Technologies rose $2.18, or 4.8 percent, to $47.99 after the parent of Otis elevators and Sikorsky Aircraft posted results that were in line with expectations and reiterated its full-year forecasts.

Among banks, JPMorgan rose $2.84, or 9.6 percent, to $32.53, while Citigroup rose 30 cents, or 10.2 percent, to $3.24. Goldman Sachs rose $5.35, or 4.7 percent, to $120.36. Morgan Stanley rose $1.13, or 4.8 percent, to $24.65.

In other market moves, the Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 17.56, or 3.9 percent, to 470.05.

About four stocks rose for every one that fell on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume came to 1.7 billion shares.

Bond prices fell. That pushed up the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note to 2.90 percent from 2.84 percent late Monday. The yield on the three-month T-bill rose to 0.15 percent from 0.12 percent Monday.

Crude for July delivery rose 4 cents to settle $48.55 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The dollar was mixed against other major currencies while gold prices fell.

Overseas, Britain's FTSE 100 slipped 0.1 percent, Germany's DAX index rose 0.3 percent, and France's CAC-40 rose 0.2 percent. Japan's Nikkei stock average fell 2.4 percent.

 

[bigdog]

NYSE Dow Jones finished today at:
Source: http://finance.yahoo.com

THE LAST 30 MINUTES RUINED THE DAY!!!

Nagging worries about banks upended a stock market rally Wednesday.

Volatile financial stocks steered the overall market for the third straight day after Morgan Stanley and credit card issuer Capital One Financial Corp. posted lackluster quarterly reports. Investors have been worried about rising levels of souring debt on bank balance sheets.

A late-session drop in banks left Wall Street's major benchmarks mixed. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 83 points, while the technology-heavy Nasdaq composite index ended modestly higher ahead of a quarterly report from eBay Inc.

The NYSE DOW closed LOWER -82.99 points -1.04% on Wednesday April 22
Sym Last........ ........Change..........
Dow 7,886.57 -82.99 -1.04%
Nasdaq 1,646.12 +2.27 +0.14%
S&P 500 843.55 -6.53 -0.77%
30-yr Bond 3.8340% +0.0880

NYSE Volume 8,899,651,000 (prior day 9,081,986,000)
Nasdaq Volume 2,724,917,000 (prior day 2,484,844,500)


Europe
Symbol... Last...... .....Change.......
FTSE 100 4,030.66 +43.20 +1.08%
DAX 4,594.42 +92.79 +2.06%
CAC 40 3,025.24 +51.30 +1.72%

Asia
Symbol..... Last...... .....Change.......
Nikkei 225 8,727.30 +15.97 +0.18%
Hang Seng 14,878.45 -407.44 -2.67%
Straits Times 1,843.41 -43.84 -2.32%

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Falli...41.html?sec=topStories&pos=main&asset=&ccode=
Falling bank stocks unravel rally; Dow loses 83

Bank stocks upend market rally as investors worry about rising levels of bad debt

* Tim Paradis, AP Business Writer
* Wednesday April 22, 2009, 5:43 pm EDT

NEW YORK (AP) -- Nagging worries about banks upended a stock market rally Wednesday.

Volatile financial stocks steered the overall market for the third straight day after Morgan Stanley and credit card issuer Capital One Financial Corp. posted lackluster quarterly reports. Investors have been worried about rising levels of souring debt on bank balance sheets.

A late-session drop in banks left Wall Street's major benchmarks mixed. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 83 points, while the technology-heavy Nasdaq composite index ended modestly higher ahead of a quarterly report from eBay Inc.

Banks had tumbled on Monday after Bank of America warned of further loan losses, only to jump back on Tuesday after Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner told Congress that most banks were well-capitalized.

The jumpy trading in financial shares came just as major companies report first-quarter earnings. Results from AT&T, Boeing and McDonald's contained glimmers of hope about consumer spending and the economy in general.

"We're starting to see a little light at the end of the tunnel," said Frank Ingarra, co-portfolio manager at Hennessy Funds. "The challenge is I don't know how long the tunnel is."

The Dow fell 82.99, or 1 percent, to 7,886.57.

Broader market measures were mixed. The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 6.53, or 0.8 percent, to 843.55, while the Nasdaq composite index rose 2.27, or 0.1 percent, to 1,646.12.

Anton Schutz, portfolio manager of Burnham Financial Industries Fund and Burnham Financial Services Fund, said with bank earnings mostly in hand investors are now focused on the results of the government's "stress tests," which are aimed at determining whether banks will need more government bailout money.

Schutz said the late slide in bank stocks Wednesday reflects fear over what those details might reveal about the industry. Results from the tests are due for release May 4.

Morgan Stanley fell $2.21, or 9 percent, to $22.44 after reporting it lost $578 million and reduced its dividend. The company said it was hurt in part by a deteriorating commercial real estate market.

Banks have largely dictated the stock market's direction since last fall, when the collapse of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. shocked the financial system. A string of better-than-expected results in recent weeks initially reassured investors that the industry was not as troubled as many feared, but Bank of America Corp. touched off worries again when it said it was expecting a sharp rise in levels of bad debt.

Analysts say it's crucial that banks become more stable and resume normal levels of lending in order for the economy to recover.

Bank of America fell 50 cents, or 5.7 percent, to $8.26 Wednesday.

Wells Fargo & Co., which bought Wachovia last fall at the height of the credit crisis, said it earned $2.38 billion. That compares with a profit of $2 billion a year earlier. Wells fell 63 cents, or 3.4 percent, to $18.18 after rising for much of the day.

Technology shares fared better.

EBay Inc. rose 49 cents, or 3.4 percent, to $14.78 ahead of its report, and then climbed another 8.6 percent in after-hours trading. The Internet auction company's earnings and revenue fell for the second quarter in a row due to the slumping economy, but they surpassed analysts' expectations.

Apple Inc. slipped 25 cents to close at $121.51 but rose 2.6 percent in after-hours trading after reporting a better-than-expected 15 percent rise in profit.

AT&T Inc., meanwhile, rose 46 cents to $25.74. It said strong results from its wireless business softened the effect of the weak economy and helped the country's biggest telecommunications carrier beat analyst estimates for the first quarter.

And Yahoo Inc. rose 10 cents to $14.48 after saying it would lay off nearly 700 workers. The Internet company's earnings fell 78 percent to $118 million for the first three months of the year.

In other trading, the Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 0.66, or 0.1 percent, to 470.71.

Rising stocks outpaced those that fell by about 8 to 7 on the New York Stock Exchange, where consolidated volume came to 7.15 billion shares, down slightly from 7.22 billion shares Tuesday.

Bond prices fell, sending the yield on the 10-year Treasury note up to 2.94 percent from 2.90 percent late Tuesday.

The dollar was mixed against other major currencies, while gold prices rose.

Overseas, Britain's FTSE 100 rose 1.1 percent, Germany's DAX index rose 2.1 percent, and France's CAC-40 rose 1.7 percent. Japan's Nikkei stock average rose 0.18 percent.

 

[bowman]

Very bearish short term outlook. Maybe heading back to 7500ish?

 

[bigdog]

NYSE Dow Jones finished today at:
Source: http://finance.yahoo.com

THE LAST HOUR AGAIN!!

The Dow Jones industrials closed Thursday with a late gain of about 71 points, or 0.9 percent, but only after another day of shaky, back-and-forth trading. It was almost the exact opposite of Wednesday's pattern, when stocks waffled throughout the day and then sank late in the afternoon.

Ryan Detrick, senior technical strategist at Schaeffer's Investment Research, said the late-day moves have not been driven by late-breaking news but by investors holding off on their trades for the day until the last minute.

The market's movement over the past week -- choppy, but sticking within a range -- indicates that investors are largely hopeful but still cautious after driving stocks up more than 20 percent from March's 12-year lows.

The NYSE DOW closed HIGHER +70.49 points +0.89% on Thursday April 23
Sym Last........ ........Change..........
Dow 7,957.06 +70.49 +0.89%
Nasdaq 1,652.21 +6.09 +0.37%
S&P 500 851.92 +8.37 +0.99%
30-yr Bond 3.7970% -0.0370

NYSE Volume 7,785,405,500 (prior day 8,899,651,000)
Nasdaq Volume 2,521,870,250 (prior day 2,724,917,000


Europe
Symbol... Last...... .....Change.......
FTSE 100 4,018.23 -12.43 -0.31%
DAX 4,538.21 -56.21 -1.22%
CAC 40 3,008.62 -16.62 -0.55%

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Stocks-log-lateday-gain-after-apf-15019083.html
Stocks log late-day gain after wobbly trading

Stocks post late gain after shaky day; Earns from PNC, Apple help but others show strain

* Madlen Read and Tim Paradis, AP Business Writers
* On Thursday April 23, 2009, 6:00 pm EDT

The Dow Jones industrials closed Thursday with a late gain of about 71 points, or 0.9 percent, but only after another day of shaky, back-and-forth trading. It was almost the exact opposite of Wednesday's pattern, when stocks waffled throughout the day and then sank late in the afternoon.

Ryan Detrick, senior technical strategist at Schaeffer's Investment Research, said the late-day moves have not been driven by late-breaking news but by investors holding off on their trades for the day until the last minute.

The market's movement over the past week -- choppy, but sticking within a range -- indicates that investors are largely hopeful but still cautious after driving stocks up more than 20 percent from March's 12-year lows.

Earnings from several leading companies were moving the market, including Apple Inc., EBay Inc. and PNC Financial Services Group Inc. PNC's results helped lift other bank stocks including JPMorgan Chase & Co., Bank of America Corp. and Wells Fargo & Co.

Poor results from other companies though, such as UPS Inc. and steelmaker Nucor Corp., signaled trouble, and economic data was downbeat. Sales of existing homes fell 3 percent in March, and claims for both new and continuing unemployment benefits rose last week.

Meanwhile, a big unknown still looms over the market: The results of the government's "stress tests," which will measure banks' ability to survive severe loan losses. The Federal Reserve is expected to explain its methodology for the tests on Friday and release results on May 4.

"The most important thing that everybody's looking for is clarity -- good, bad or indifferent," said Anthony Conroy, managing director and head trader for BNY ConvergEx Group.

On Thursday, the Dow finished up 70.49, or 0.9 percent, to 7,957.06, making up most of Wednesday's loss of 83 points.

Broader stock indicators also finished moderately higher. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 8.37, or 1 percent, to 851.92, and the Nasdaq composite index rose 6.09, or 0.4 percent, to 1,652.21.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies, however, fell 4.09, or 0.9 percent, to 466.62.

The National Association of Realtors reported that home sales fell 3 percent to an annual rate of 4.57 million in March from a revised pace of 4.71 million units in February. And the Labor Department reported a rise in new unemployment claims last week that was more than expected. The number of workers continuing to file claims for jobless benefits topped 6.13 million -- the 12th straight weekly record.

Ken Winans, president and chief executive of Winans International in Novato, Calif., said investors have been too quick to predict the end of the recession given difficulties like the glut of available homes and mounting unemployment.

"The stars are not all going to align," Winans said of economic readings. "Bottoms take time."

Still, traders have been taking some comfort from companies that have so far navigated the recession with success.

PNC bank rose $2.87, or 7.5 percent, to $40.93 after reporting a surprising 22 percent rise in first-quarter profit, boosted by its acquisition of National City Corp. and lower funding costs.

In other positive earnings news, Raytheon rose $2.74, or 6.6 percent, to $44.04 after raising its full-year earnings forecast and seeing stronger sales of missiles, radars and defense electronics.

Meanwhile, Apple rose $3.89, or 3.2 percent, to $125.40, while eBay rose $1.84, or 12.5 percent, to $16.62. Good results at both companies raised expectations that some consumers will continue to spend on gadgets and other goods.

Other earnings reports were more troubling.

UPS fell $1.42, or 2.6 percent, to $53.33 after earnings fell more than 55 percent as fewer people sent packages and used premium services like next-day air. UPS also warned second-quarter results will fall short of expectations.

And Nucor Corp., the largest U.S. steel producer, posted its first loss ever due to tumbling demand, and forecast an even wider loss for the second quarter. Nucor shares fell $4.07, or 9.2 percent, to $40.

About three stocks rose for every two that fell on the New York Stock Exchange, where consolidated volume came to 6.47 billion shares, down from 7.15 billion shares Wednesday.

Bond prices rose, pushing the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note down to 2.93 percent from 2.94 percent late Wednesday.

Light, sweet crude rose 77 cents to $49.62 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The dollar was mostly lower against other major currencies, while gold prices rose.

Overseas, Britain's FTSE 100 fell 0.3 percent, Germany's DAX index fell 1.2 percent, and France's CAC-40 fell 0.6 percent. Japan's Nikkei stock average rose 0.22 percent.

 

[bigdog]

NYSE Dow Jones finished today at:
Source: http://finance.yahoo.com

The Dow Jones industrial average closed the week down 55.04, or 0.7 percent, at 8,076.29. The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 3.37, or 0.4 percent, to 866.23. The Nasdaq composite index rose 21.22, or 1.3 percent, to 1,694.29.

Investors set aside some of their worries about banks and the economy Friday after the government unveiled its methods for testing the health of banks.

The Federal Reserve report was light on details, but didn't bring any bad news. Investors were also pleased about quarterly results from Ford Motor Co., American Express Co. and Microsoft Corp.

Those developments cleared the way for a 119-point gain in the Dow Jones industrial average, leaving it down slightly for the week. The Dow and the S&P 500 broke their six-week winning streak, but the Nasdaq extended its string of weekly gains to seven.

The NYSE DOW closed HIGHER +119.23 points +1.50% on Friday April 24
Sym Last........ ........Change..........
Dow 8,076.29 +119.23 +1.50%
Nasdaq 1,694.29 +42.08 +2.55%
S&P 500 866.23 +14.31 +1.68%
30-yr Bond 3.8760% +0.0790

NYSE Volume 8,669,409,000 (prior day 8,899,651,000)
Nasdaq Volume 2,578,359,750 (prior day 2,724,917,000)

Europe
Symbol... Last...... .....Change.......
FTSE 100 4,155.99 +137.76 +3.43%
DAX 4,674.32 +136.11 +3.00%
CAC 40 3,102.85 +94.23 +3.13%

Asia
Symbol..... Last...... .....Change.......
Nikkei 225 8,707.99 -139.02 -1.57%
Hang Seng 15,258.85 +44.39 +0.29%
Straits Times 1,852.85 -7.13 -0.38%

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Wall-Street-finds-little-apf-15030768.html?.v=23
Wall Street finds little stress in 'stress tests'

Stocks higher amid relief over methods for testing banks; Ford, Amex surge on results

* Tim Paradis, AP Business Writer
* On Friday April 24, 2009, 5:53 pm EDT

NEW YORK (AP) -- Investors set aside some of their worries about banks and the economy Friday after the government unveiled its methods for testing the health of banks.

The Federal Reserve report was light on details, but didn't bring any bad news. Investors were also pleased about quarterly results from Ford Motor Co., American Express Co. and Microsoft Corp.

Those developments cleared the way for a 119-point gain in the Dow Jones industrial average, leaving it down slightly for the week. The Dow and the S&P 500 broke their six-week winning streak, but the Nasdaq extended its string of weekly gains to seven.

The Fed, in outlining the tests' methodology, said the 19 companies that hold one-half of the loans in the U.S. banking system won't be allowed to fail -- even if they fared poorly on the stress tests.

Separately, bank executives were being briefed on their test results in meetings across the country. By law, the banks cannot publicize the results without the government's permission, but Wall Street buzzed with anticipation and most financial stocks rose.

"There are no major shocks in here. That's why the market's holding up well," said Scott Fullman, director of derivatives investment strategy for WJB Capital Group. "It's been hanging over the market for the last few days."

The day was not without volatility, however. After the Fed's release, the stock market at times gave up huge chunks of gains before finishing solidly higher. Financial stocks, as they have been all week, were leading the way.

The Dow rose 119.23, or 1.5 percent, to 8,076.29, after rising by as many as 170 points.

Broader market measures also advanced. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 14.31, or 1.7 percent, to 866.23, and the Nasdaq composite index rose 42.08, or 2.6 percent, to 1,694.29.

For the week, the Dow slipped 0.7 percent, the S&P 500 dipped 0.4 percent, and the Nasdaq rose 1.3 percent.

Steve Sachs, director of trading at Rydex Investments, in Rockville, Md., said market has held up well during a week in which about a quarter of the companies in the S&P 500 index have released earnings, including the major banks.

"We are looking for the signs of economic recovery," he said. "The market clearly is comfortable that it sees the signs of economic stability that it needs to see."

Sachs said he wouldn't be surprised to see some retreat in stocks after the major market gauges surged more than 20 percent since the rally began March 10. Stocks are still down by more than 40 percent from their peak in October 2007.

Stocks jumped from the start of trading Friday after Ford's loss wasn't as bad as analysts had forecast. The No. 2 automaker used up much less cash during the first three months of the year than it did in the last quarter of 2008.

The formal results of the stress tests won't be announced until May 4, but investors have been able to quell some of their worries after big banks after largely better-than-expected results this week.

Robert Reynolds, chief executive at Putnam Investments, said Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner's statement Tuesday that "the vast majority" of banks have enough capital hints that the market likely won't be surprised by the grades banks bring home from the stress test.

"I think it will confirm what the market thinks," he said, adding that banks are still troubled and will need time to repair their balance sheets. "I don't think that by any stretch of the imagination it means that we're out of woods."

In earnings news, Ford rose 51 cents, or 11 percent, $5 after reporting that it spent $3.7 billion more than it brought in during the quarter. That amount is far less than the $7.2 billion the company went through in the fourth quarter. The company hasn't taken government loans.

American Express jumped $4.33, or 20.7 percent, to $25.30 after the credit card lender reported earnings late Thursday that topped Wall Street's expectations, in part because of heavy cost-cutting. The company was by far the biggest gainer among the 30 stocks that form the Dow Jones industrials.

Reports from Microsoft and Amazon.com Inc. propelled the Nasdaq to the best performance among the major indexes. The index is up about 5 percent for the year as investors have bet that technology companies will be quick to bounce back as the economy recovers.

Microsoft rose $1.99, or 10.5 percent, to $20.91 as investors cheered cost cuts that included layoffs. Profits fell 32 percent but were in line with Wall Street estimates.

Amazon rose $3.85, or 4.8 percent, to $84.46 after the online retailer's first-quarter earnings and sales came in ahead of expectations as consumers still spent on books, DVDs and electronics despite the recession.

Energy stocks rose along with the price of crude oil and after oilfield services company Schlumberger Ltd. posted profits that beat Wall Street's expectations. The stock rose $3.12, or 6.7 percent, to $49.73, even as earnings fell about 30 percent because oil and natural gas companies cut back on exploration and drilling.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 12.12, or 2.6 percent, to 478.74.

About three stocks rose for every one that fell on the New York Stock Exchange, where consolidated volume came to 6.99 billion shares, up from 6.47 billion shares Thursday.

Bond prices fell, pushing the yield on the 10-year Treasury note up to 2.99 percent from 2.93 percent late Thursday.

The dollar was mostly lower against other major currencies, while gold prices rose. Light, sweet crude jumped $1.93 to $51.55 a barrel even as supplies remain plentiful.

Overseas, Britain's FTSE 100 closed up 3.4 percent as U.S. markets rallied. Germany's DAX index rose 3 percent, and France's CAC-40 rose 3.1 percent. Japan's Nikkei stock average fell 1.6 percent.

The Dow Jones industrial average closed the week down 55.04, or 0.7 percent, at 8,076.29. The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 3.37, or 0.4 percent, to 866.23. The Nasdaq composite index rose 21.22, or 1.3 percent, to 1,694.29.

The Russell 2000 index, which tracks the performance of small company stocks, fell 0.63, or 0.1 percent, for the week to 478.74.

The Dow Jones U.S. Total Stock Market Index -- which measures nearly all U.S.-based companies -- ended at 8,863.06, down 26.58, or 0.3 percent, for the week. A year ago, the index was at 13,990.52.

 

[bigdog]

NYSE Dow Jones finished today at:
Source: http://finance.yahoo.com

The swine flu gave Wall Street a reason to turn cautious.

The Dow Jones industrial average gave up a midday recovery and retreated about 0.6 percent Monday as the swine flu's death count in Mexico grew to about 150 people from 100.

There have been far fewer cases reported elsewhere, including the United States, and no other fatalities. Investors were also mindful of previous health scares that had only short-term jostling effects on the market including bird flu, Mad Cow disease and the West Nile virus -- none of which ever escalated to into global pandemics.

Still, Wall Street decided to hedge its bets as the U.S. cases of swine flu doubled to about 40.

The NYSE DOW closed LOWER -51.29 points -0.64% on Monday April 27
Sym Last........ ........Change..........
Dow 8,025.00 -51.29 -0.64%
Nasdaq 1,679.41 -14.88 -0.88%
S&P 500 857.51 -8.72 -1.01%
30-yr Bond 3.8380% -0.0380

NYSE Volume 6,819,637,000 (prior day 8,669,409,000)
Nasdaq Volume 2,644,689,500 (prior day 2,578,359,750)

Europe
Symbol... Last...... .....Change.......
FTSE 100 4,167.01 +11.02 +0.27%
DAX 4,694.07 +19.75 +0.42%
CAC 40 3,102.43 -0.42 -0.01%

Asia
Symbol..... Last...... .....Change.......
Nikkei 225 8,726.34 +18.35 +0.21%
Hang Seng 14,840.42 -418.43 -2.74%
Straits Times 1,818.61 -34.24 -1.85%

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Inves...99.html?sec=topStories&pos=main&asset=&ccode=
Investors are cautious as swine flu cases increase

Stocks decline as swine flu cases increase; Investors await more data on economy, earnings

* Madlen Read, AP Business Writer
* On Monday April 27, 2009, 6:02 pm EDT

NEW YORK (AP) -- The swine flu gave Wall Street a reason to turn cautious.

The Dow Jones industrial average gave up a midday recovery and retreated about 0.6 percent Monday as the swine flu's death count in Mexico grew to about 150 people from 100.

There have been far fewer cases reported elsewhere, including the United States, and no other fatalities. Investors were also mindful of previous health scares that had only short-term jostling effects on the market including bird flu, Mad Cow disease and the West Nile virus -- none of which ever escalated to into global pandemics.

Still, Wall Street decided to hedge its bets as the U.S. cases of swine flu doubled to about 40.

Ryan Larson, senior equity trader at Voyageur Asset Management, said the flu was a "wild card" for the market. "It's still a little bit early to go into panic mode, but it's definitely something that needs to be watched closely," Larson said.

Airline and other travel-related stocks suffered the sharpest losses Monday. The European Union health commissioner advised Europeans to avoid nonessential travel to Mexico and the United States, but the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta said the recommendation was unwarranted.

Craig Peckham, market strategist at Jefferies & Co., called the flu an "easy excuse" for investors to cash in any profits they may have made in recent weeks. The Dow stalled last week, but remains up about 23 percent since its nearly 12-year low on March 9 after better-than-expected earnings and economic reports.

Monday's pullback came on very light volume -- a sign that there was more profit-taking than fear in the selling.

The Dow's losses were mitigated by General Motors Corp., which said it will cut 21,000 jobs by next year and ask the government to exchange GM debt for stock. The bailed-out automaker's announcement did not erase the possibility of a GM bankruptcy, but made it appear a bit less likely.

The Dow fell 51.29, or 0.6 percent, to 8,025.00, its first drop in three days.

Broader stock indicators also closed lower. The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 8.72, or 1 percent, to 857.51, and the Nasdaq composite index fell 14.88, or 0.9 percent, to 1,679.41.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies fell 9.21, or 1.9 percent, to 469.53.

About two stocks fell for every one that rose on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume came to 5.52 billion shares, down from 6.99 billion on Friday.

GM rose 35 cents, or nearly 21 percent, to $2.04.

The stocks of airlines, hotels and other travel-related companies suffered heavy losses.

Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide Inc. fell nearly 11 percent, falling $2.27 to $18.55. Cruise operator Carnival Corp. fell $3.84 or 13.5 percent to $24.59, and Delta Air Lines Inc. fell 14.3 percent, or $1.13, to $6.75.

Some pharmaceutical stocks, however, climbed. GlaxoSmithKline gained 7.6 percent, rising $2.22 to $31.56, and Gilead Sciences Inc. rose 3.8 percent, climbing $1.73 to $47.53. The two companies make flu treatments.

Although the swine flu distracted investors somewhat, they were still wary about financial stocks as they awaited the results of the government's stress tests on 19 big banks. The tests are due next Monday, and some analysts said the lack of details about the methodology of the tests is unsettling investors.

Citigroup Inc. fell 12 cents, or 3.8 percent, to $3.07, while Bank of America Corp. slipped 18 cents, or 1.98 percent, to $8.92.

Credit card issuers in particular were "sell" targets. Discover Financial Services fell $1.01, or 11 percent, to $8.08, while Capital One Financial Corp. fell $2.28, or 12 percent, to $16.74. There are growing concerns in the market that more cardholders will default on their balances as the recession continues.

Still, in anticipation of an economic turnaround, many investors like Robert Pavlik, chief market strategist at Banyan Partners LLC, said they have been paring back on traditionally safe stocks like consumer staples and buying more financials and consumer discretionary stocks.

"We are in a downturn, in this slowing economic phase, but it's not as bad as people originally perceived," Pavlik said. "What we're telling our clients is: Don't focus on the last three months."

But others say Wall Street needs more than just evidence that U.S. economy's decline is moderating.

"At a certain point, further gains have to be predicated on things getting fundamentally better, as opposed to less bad," Peckham said.

U.S. government bond prices were mixed. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note dipped to 2.91 percent from 3.00 percent late Friday. Bond prices move opposite to yields.

The dollar was mostly higher against other major currencies, while gold prices fell.

Light, sweet crude fell $1.41 to $50.14 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Overseas, Japan's Nikkei stock average rose 0.2 percent. Britain's FTSE 100 rose 0.3 percent, Germany's DAX index rose 0.4 percent, and France's CAC-40 fell less than 0.1 percent.

 

[bigdog]

NYSE Dow Jones finished today at:
Source: http://finance.yahoo.com

After months of giving investors only headaches, consumers gave Wall Street a break Tuesday.

A closely watched measure of consumer confidence soared in April, pulling stocks off an early slide and leaving them with just modest losses as investors grew hopeful that a better outlook among spenders would translate into bigger cash register receipts. The consumer reading balanced worries that large banks might need more capital and concerns about the spread of swine flu.

IBM Corp.'s decision to boost its dividend and spend more to buy back stock gave the market another shot of confidence, but an afternoon rally petered out in the last hour.

The NYSE DOW closed LOWER -8.05 points -0.10% on Tuesday April 28
Sym Last........ ........Change..........
Dow 8,016.95 -8.05 -0.10%
Nasdaq 1,673.81 -5.60 -0.33%
S&P 500 855.16 -2.35 -0.27%
30-yr Bond 3.9550% +0.1170

NYSE Volume 6,417,724,000 (prior day 6,819,637,000)
Nasdaq Volume 2,469,499,000 (prior day 2,644,689,500)


Europe
Symbol... Last...... .....Change.......
FTSE 100 4,096.40 -70.61 -1.69%
DAX 4,607.42 -86.65 -1.85%
CAC 40 3,051.02 -51.41 -1.66%

Asia
Symbol..... Last...... .....Change.......
Nikkei 225 8,493.77 -232.57 -2.67%
Hang Seng 14,555.11 -285.31 -1.92%
Straits Times 1,808.41 -10.20 -0.56%

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Jump-...62149.html?sec=topStories&pos=2&asset=&ccode=

Jump in consumer confidence pulls stocks from lows

Stocks post modest losses as financials lag; consumer confidence blows past forecasts in April

* Tim Paradis, AP Business Writers
* On Tuesday April 28, 2009, 6:32 pm EDT

NEW YORK (AP) -- After months of giving investors only headaches, consumers gave Wall Street a break Tuesday.

A closely watched measure of consumer confidence soared in April, pulling stocks off an early slide and leaving them with just modest losses as investors grew hopeful that a better outlook among spenders would translate into bigger cash register receipts. The consumer reading balanced worries that large banks might need more capital and concerns about the spread of swine flu.

IBM Corp.'s decision to boost its dividend and spend more to buy back stock gave the market another shot of confidence, but an afternoon rally petered out in the last hour.

The Conference Board said its Consumer Confidence Index surged this month, jumping 12 points to 39.2, its highest level since November. The reading came as a relief to investors as consumers, worried about falling home prices, rising unemployment and a slumping stock market, have been reluctant to spend since last fall.

Todd Leone, managing director of equity trading at Cowen & Co., noted that investors continue to grow more upbeat about prospects for the economy. That optimism followed a string of better-than-expected readings and has driven a market rally since early March.

"People aren't as afraid as they have been. We're definitely seeing more money come back into the market," he said.

But the market's confidence took a hit ahead of the consumer report as investors worried that a growth in swine flu cases could hurt industries such as travel and tourism. The World Health Organization raised its alert to Phase 4 out of 6, saying the flu spreads easily but is not a pandemic.

The Dow Jones industrial average ended the day down 8.05, or 0.1 percent, to 8,016.95 after being down as much as 86 ahead of the consumer confidence report.

Broader stock indicators also lost ground. The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 2.35, or 0.3 percent, to 855.16, and the Nasdaq composite index fell 5.60, or 0.3 percent, to 1,673.81.

Banking troubles came back into focus after news came out that regulators told Bank of America Corp. and Citigroup Inc. that they may need to raise more capital unless they can convince regulators that results of government "stress tests" were mistaken.

Bank of America fell 77 cents, or 8.6 percent, to $8.15, while Citigroup fell 18 cents, or 5.9 percent, to $2.89.

Some stocks that depend on consumer spending rose on the Conference Board index. The reading was far better than the 29.5 that economists expected, and suggests consumers might be willing to spend more if confidence continues to build.

Starbucks Corp. rose 30 cents, or 2.3 percent, to $13.50, while Coca-Cola Co. advanced 4 cents to $42.28.

"In the short term, this market is going to continue to trade on psychology," said Matt Eads, portfolio manager at Eads & Heald Investment Counsel in Atlanta. "People are looking for anything they can grab on to, which is a sign of good news and economic stabilization."

IBM rose $1.99, or 2 percent, to $101.94 after the company raised its quarterly dividend 5 cents to 55 cents. The company's board authorized another $3 billion for repurchasing stock. The move brings the total available for buying up shares to $6.7 billion.

"IBM's buyback and dividend hike has given the market some confidence and reminded people that there is a little bit of favorable news in technology," said Nick Kalivas, vice president of financial research at the brokerage MF Global in Chicago.

Unlike other major benchmarks, the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index is up 6.1 percent this year as investors look for lean technology companies to benefit quickly from an economic recovery.

Investors responded more to news about individual stocks rather than buying entire industries, as had been the case in recent months when traders placed bets on consumer staples and technology companies expected to better endure the recession.

In other trading Tuesday, the Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 3.28, or 0.7 percent, to 472.81.

The swine flu gave investors reason to cash in recent gains Monday, but the Dow is still up 22.5 percent from the nearly 12-year low it reached in early March.

Bond prices fell, pushing the yield on the 10-year Treasury note up to 3.01 percent from 2.91 percent.

The dollar was mixed against other major currencies. Gold prices fell.

Light, sweet crude fell 22 cents to $49.92 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Advancing stocks narrowly outpaced decliners on the New York Stock Exchange, where consolidated volume came to 5.3 billion shares compared with 5.52 billion traded Monday.

Overseas, Japan's Nikkei stock average fell 2.7 percent. In Europe, Britain's FTSE 100 fell 1.7 percent, Germany's DAX index fell 1.9 percent and France's CAC-40 fell 1.7 percent.

 

[bigdog]

NYSE Dow Jones finished today at:
Source: http://finance.yahoo.com

The Fed confirmed what Wall Street has already concluded: The recession is starting to ease.

Federal Reserve policymakers said at the end of a two-day meeting Wednesday that while the economy is still receding, the pace of decline "appears to be somewhat slower" than the last time they met in mid-March.

That was confirmation enough for the stock market. Major indexes, which had already been up sharply ahead of the announcement on other signs the economy is stabilizing, posted gains of more than 2 percent. The Dow Jones industrial average jumped 169 points to its highest close since Feb. 9.

The NYSE DOW closed HIGHER +168.78 +2.11% on Wednesday April 29
Sym Last........ ........Change..........
Dow 8,185.73 +168.78 +2.11%
Nasdaq 1,711.94 +38.13 +2.28%
S&P 500 873.64 +18.48 +2.16%
30-yr Bond 4.0260% +0.0710

NYSE Volume 7,294,068,500 (prior day 6,417,724,000)
Nasdaq Volume 2,819,922,250 (prior day 2,469,499,000)

Europe
Symbol... Last...... .....Change.......
FTSE 100 4,189.59 +93.19 +2.27%
DAX 4,704.56 +97.14 +2.11%
CAC 40 3,116.94 +65.92 +2.16%

Asia
Symbol..... Last...... .....Change.......
Nikkei 225 8,493.77 -232.57 -2.67%
Hang Seng 14,956.95 +401.84 +2.76%
Straits Times 1,849.57 +41.16 +2.28%

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Stock...38.html?sec=topStories&pos=main&asset=&ccode=

Stocks end higher as Fed sees recession easing

Stocks end higher as Fed sees 'somewhat slower' slide in economy; S&P 500 hits 3-month high

* Tim Paradis and Madlen Read, AP Business Writer

NEW YORK (AP) -- The Fed confirmed what Wall Street has already concluded: The recession is starting to ease.

Federal Reserve policymakers said at the end of a two-day meeting Wednesday that while the economy is still receding, the pace of decline "appears to be somewhat slower" than the last time they met in mid-March.

That was confirmation enough for the stock market. Major indexes, which had already been up sharply ahead of the announcement on other signs the economy is stabilizing, posted gains of more than 2 percent. The Dow Jones industrial average jumped 169 points to its highest close since Feb. 9.

"You had the Federal Reserve endorsing the basic stance that the economy is beginning to stabilize," said Bruce McCain, chief investment strategist at Key Private Bank in Cleveland.

The Dow is now 25 percent above its early March lows, though stocks have been unsteady over the past several days on fears of a potential swine flu pandemic and persistent concerns about the country's biggest banks.

Stocks began the day higher as investors responded to bright spots within a weaker-than-expected report on the nation's economic output for the first three months of the year.

Gross domestic product contracted at an annual rate of 6.1 percent, much steeper than the 5 percent forecast by economists polled by Thomson Reuters. But the glimmers of good news in the report drove the Standard & Poor's 500 rose to its highest trading level since late January.

Investors were encourage by a rebound in consumer spending, which accounts for more than two-thirds of U.S. economic activity, and a decline in business inventories. On President Barack Obama's 100th day in office, the GDP report at least provided signs that the nation is seeing its economic slide start to moderate.

The Dow jumped 168.78, or 2.1 percent, to 8,185.73. The gain leaves the blue chips down about 591 points, or 6.7 percent for the year.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index gained 18.48, or 2.2 percent, to 873.64, its highest close since Jan. 28.

The Nasdaq composite index advanced 38.13, or 2.3 percent, to 1,711.94. The tech-heavy index posted its highest finish since Nov. 4 and is up 8.6 percent for the year.

Michael Sheldon, chief market strategist at Westport, Conn.-based RDM Financial, said the drop in business stockpiles "should set the stage for a pickup in production, employment and profits."

Investors are still nervous that some banks, notably Citigroup Inc. and Bank of America Corp., might have to get more capital from the government or other investors. Going in to Wednesday's session, the Dow had lost 59 points this week.

Wednesday's GDP report follows recent data that suggests consumers have taken on a more upbeat outlook on the economy, which can translate into more spending and bigger corporate profits. On Tuesday, a report showing a sharp jump in consumer confidence in April helped pull stocks from an early decline and left the market with just modest losses.

Better-than-expected earnings have been boosting the market as well. Media conglomerate Time Warner Inc. said first-quarter profit fell 14 percent on deteriorating ad sales, but the results were better than expected. Defense contractor General Dynamics Corp.'s first-quarter earnings rose 3 percent on sales of warships and other military equipment.

Time Warner rose 21 cents, or 1 percent, to $21.98, while General Dynamics rose $2.73, or 5.4 percent, to $53.34.

Investors are still keenly focused on the financial sector, though.

Bank of America held a contentious annual meeting Wednesday. The Charlotte, N.C.-based bank -- one of the biggest recipients of government support -- is facing pressure from shareholders for its acquisition of Merrill Lynch. Shareholders re-elected the bank's board, according to a person with knowledge of the vote tally who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to disclose the results.

But BofA executives said they needed more time to count the ballots for the 11 measures that were put to a vote -- including a shareholder proposal to strip CEO Ken Lewis of his chairman's title.

Meanwhile, Citigroup, which has also received large amounts of federal aid, is trying to figure out how to retain workers. Citigroup CEO Vikram Pandit has talked with Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner about the possibility of paying special bonuses to keep demoralized workers from getting scooped up by competitors, a person familiar with the matter said. The person, who spoke on condition of anonymity, was not authorized to disclose details about the private talks.

According to a report in The Wall Street Journal late Tuesday, some key employees are threatening to leave the company because of pay restrictions the government placed on the bank.

Bank of America rose 53 cents, or 6.5 percent, to $8.68, while Citigroup rose 23 cents, or 8 percent, to $3.12.

In other trading, the Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 18.63, or 3.9 percent, to 491.47.

About five stocks rose for every one that fell on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume came to 1.5 billion shares.

Bond prices fell after the Fed said it saw signs that the economy was finding its footing. That decreased demand for the safety of government debt and pushed the yield on the 10-year Treasury note up to 3.11 percent from 3.01 percent on Tuesday.

The dollar fell against most other major currencies. Gold prices rose.

Light, sweet crude rose $1.05 to settle at $50.97 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Overseas, Britain's FTSE 100 rose 2.3 percent, Germany's DAX index rose 2.1 percent and France's CAC-40 rose 2.2 percent. Japan's Nikkei stock average fell 2.7 percent.

 

[bigdog]

NYSE Dow Jones finished today at:
Source: http://finance.yahoo.com

April was Wall Street's best month in nine years -- offering some of the most powerful evidence yet that maybe, just maybe, the economy is about to begin a turnaround.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index, considered the most reliable measure of the broader market, climbed 9.4 percent in April, its best performance since March 2000, the peak of the dot-com bubble. The Dow Jones industrial average shot up 7.4 percent in April, on top of a 7.7 percent gain in March.

That's more than a relief for investors -- it's a potential economic indicator, because the stock market tends to get back on its feet before the economy does. In downturns over the past 60 years, the S&P hit bottom an average of four months before a recession ended and about nine months before unemployment hit its peak.

The NYSE DOW closed LOWER -17.61 points -0.22% on Thursday Apriil 30
Sym Last........ ........Change..........
Dow 8,168.12 -17.61 -0.22%
Nasdaq 1,717.30 +5.36 +0.31%
S&P 500 872.81 -0.83 -0.10%
30-yr Bond 4.0440% +0.0180

NYSE Volume 9,861,495,000 (prior day 7,294,068,500)
Nasdaq Volume 3,363,920,250 (prior day 2,819,922,250)

Europe
Symbol... Last...... .....Change.......
FTSE 100 4,243.71 +54.12 +1.29%
DAX 4,769.45 +64.89 +1.38%
CAC 40 3,159.85 +42.91 +1.38%


Asia
Symbol..... Last...... .....Change.......
Nikkei 225 8,828.26 +334.49 +3.94%
Hang Seng 15,520.99 +564.04 +3.77%
Straits Times 1,920.28 +70.71 +3.82%

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Stock...94740.html?sec=topStories&pos=1&asset=&ccode=

Stocks' big April could be sign of healing economy

Wall Street's big April advance could be another sign that the recession is starting to ease

* Tim Paradis, AP Business Writer
* On Thursday April 30, 2009, 6:45 pm EDT

NEW YORK (AP) -- April was Wall Street's best month in nine years -- offering some of the most powerful evidence yet that maybe, just maybe, the economy is about to begin a turnaround.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index, considered the most reliable measure of the broader market, climbed 9.4 percent in April, its best performance since March 2000, the peak of the dot-com bubble. The Dow Jones industrial average shot up 7.4 percent in April, on top of a 7.7 percent gain in March.

That's more than a relief for investors -- it's a potential economic indicator, because the stock market tends to get back on its feet before the economy does. In downturns over the past 60 years, the S&P hit bottom an average of four months before a recession ended and about nine months before unemployment hit its peak.

"The market is saying that the economy would hit its trough this summer," said Al Goldman, chief market strategist at Wachovia Securities in St. Louis who has spent 50 years monitoring Wall Street.

Even with the gains in March and April, the Dow is still down 42 percent from its peak in October 2007, and the S&P 500 index is off 44 percent.

Nevertheless, the mood is clearly more upbeat.

Stocks mostly held steady Thursday, the same day that Chrysler filed for bankruptcy reorganization. Only two months ago, a more jittery market would have plunged if one of the Big Three said it couldn't pay its bills.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 17.61, or 0.2 percent, to 8,168.12 Thursday. The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 0.83, or 0.1 percent, to 872.81. The Nasdaq composite index rose 5.36, or 0.3 percent, to 1,717.30.

On paper at least, U.S. stocks gained nearly $1 trillion in value in April alone. And the S&P's March-April gain of 18.7 percent is its best two-month rise since 1975.

The fervent hope among many investors and policymakers is that Wall Street itself will help the larger economy along. The same psychology that led many people to cut their spending following last fall's frightening stock plunge could work in reverse, boosting confidence in the economy and making Americans feel more comfortable about spending.

The rally began in March when Citigroup surprised investors by announcing it had made money in the first two months of the year. Other banks followed suit, and last week many big banks posted results that weren't as bad as feared. In April, economic readings on home construction, retail sales and orders for manufactured goods improved or at least didn't slide as quickly as they did during the meltdown last fall.

"The market has been playing its role as an economic fortune teller," said Jim McDonald, chief investment strategist at Northern Trust in Chicago.

Of course, sometimes the market speaks too soon. For example, it jumped 20 percent from late November to the start of January only to slide to new lows by early March when more bad economic news arrived.

This time, bank stocks, which led Wall Street to its devastating losses last year, are leading the market higher. Financial stocks in the S&P 500 index are up 74 percent since early March.

Of course, percentages can be misleading. The 200 percent gain in Citigroup's stock in less than two months -- from $1 to $3 -- might not feel as rewarding for an investor who held the bank's shares a year ago when they were worth $27. And the recovery in stocks is never a straight line upward; stocks could very well fall back somewhat.

"I think the market rally that we're seeing is a little bit of false euphoria," said Stephanie Giroux, chief investment strategist at the brokerage TD Ameritrade. "When the market starts to digest that the less bad isn't going to be enough, you'll see it maybe take a breather for a while."

 

[bigdog]

NYSE Dow Jones finished today at:
Source: http://finance.yahoo.com

For the week, the Dow rose 1.7 percent, the S&P 500 index added 1.3 percent and the Nasdaq rose 1.5 percent.

The Nasdaq is up 9 percent for the year but the Dow and the S&P 500 remain lower.

Wall Street extended its rally into a third month, shrugging off more reminders of the recession and placing cautious bets on an economic recovery.

Stocks ended higher Friday after a day of quiet back-and-forth trading as investors determined that they could add to the gains of March and April despite mixed economic data and earnings reports.

The advance left the stock market's major gauges with gains of about 1.5 percent for the week.

The NYSE DOW closed HIGHER +44.29 points +0.54% on Friday May 1
Sym Last........ ........Change..........
Dow 8,212.41 +44.29 +0.54%
Nasdaq 1,719.20 +1.90 +0.11%
S&P 500 877.52 +4.71 +0.54%
30-yr Bond 4.0880% +0.0440

NYSE Volume 6,178,385,000 (prior day 9,861,495,000)
Nasdaq Volume 2,522,047,000 (prior day 3,363,920,250)


Europe
Symbol... Last...... .....Change.......
FTSE 100 4,243.22 -0.49 -0.01%
DAX 4,769.45 closed May 1
CAC 40 3,159.85 closed May 1


Asia
Symbol..... Last...... .....Change.......
Nikkei 225 8,977.37 +149.11 +1.69%
Hang Seng 15,520.99 +564.04 +3.77%
Straits Times 1,920.28 closed May 1

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Wall-...08193.html?sec=topStories&pos=1&asset=&ccode=

Wall Street rally extends into a third month

Stocks end quiet day higher after mixed economic, earnings data; Dow gains 44

* Tim Paradis, AP Business Writer
* On Friday May 1, 2009, 6:02 pm EDT

NEW YORK (AP) -- Wall Street extended its rally into a third month, shrugging off more reminders of the recession and placing cautious bets on an economic recovery.

Stocks ended higher Friday after a day of quiet back-and-forth trading as investors determined that they could add to the gains of March and April despite mixed economic data and earnings reports.

The advance left the stock market's major gauges with gains of about 1.5 percent for the week.

Wall Street has been growing more optimistic about the economy stabilizing, but the reports Friday confirmed that business conditions remain difficult and that a recovery is likely to be gradual.

A private group's measure of the manufacturing industry showed a slower contraction in April than March. However a separate government report said orders to U.S. factories fell more than expected in March.

Companies also reported mixed results. MasterCard Inc.'s first-quarter revenue fell short of expectations and two major insurance companies posted losses for the quarter. Reports from manufacturer Manitowoc Co. and computer security software maker McAfee Inc. beat forecasts.

Earnings reports have been a major driver of the stock market over the past few weeks. The S&P 500 index, a broad measure of the market, rose 9.4 percent in April, the biggest monthly jump since March 2000.

"After the big run-up everyone is just trying to step back and trying to put their game plan together for the next month," said Sean Simko, head of fixed income management at SEI Investments in Philadelphia.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 44.29, or 0.5 percent, to 8,212.41.

The S&P 500 index rose 4.71, or 0.5 percent, to 877.52, and the Nasdaq composite index rose 1.90, or 0.1 percent, to 1,719.20.

For the week, the Dow rose 1.7 percent, the S&P 500 index added 1.3 percent and the Nasdaq rose 1.5 percent.

The Nasdaq is up 9 percent for the year but the Dow and the S&P 500 remain lower.

While many economic and earnings reports haven't been as bad as expected, they're still not good. Some analysts say the market's enthusiasm over the early seeds of recovery is overdone.

"People keep talking about these 'green shoots' but to me that implies that something is growing. But nothing is growing at this point," said Dan Cook, senior market analyst at IG Markets in Chicago.

The economic and earnings reports Friday highlighted the forces tugging at the economy.

MasterCard fell $10.55, or 5.8 percent, to $172.90 after its warning about weakness in revenues.

Insurers MetLife Inc. and The Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. posted losses for the first quarter. MetLife fell $2.30, or 7.7 percent, to $27.45, while The Hartford fell 91 cents, or 7.9 percent, to $10.56.

However, Manitowoc reported a first-quarter loss, but results from the maker of cranes and foodservice equipment topped expectations. The stock rose 54 cents, or 9.1 percent, to $6.49.

McAfee's profit jumped 77 percent, pushing its stock up $2.92, or 7.8 percent, to $40.46.

The rally could easily falter, however, after the government releases results from its "stress tests" of major banks to see which ones will need more financial aid. Word came Friday that the announcement of the results was pushed back from Monday to Thursday as negotiations between banks and regulators continue.

The market took the news of the delay well but Alan Lancz, money manager at Alan B. Lancz & Associates, in Toledo, Ohio, said financial stocks could face hurdles next week if the results show that banks' balance sheets are in worse shape than expected.

"Everyone is looking at the glass as half full right now and that tends to worry us, especially with the financials," he said.

Financial stocks mostly fell after surging 74 percent from the markets early lows in March. Wells Fargo & Co. slid 40 cents, or 2 percent, to $19.61, while Bank of America Corp. fell 23 cents, or 2.6 percent, to $8.70.

Energy stocks advanced as light, sweet crude rose $2.08 to settle at $53.20 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Occidental Petroleum rose $2.18, or 3.9 percent, to $58.47, while Devon Energy Corp. rose $2.29, or 4.4 percent, to $54.14.

About two stocks rose for every one that fell on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume came to a light 1.29 billion shares.

U.S. government bond prices fell, pushing the yield on the 10-year note up to 3.16 percent from 3.12 percent late Thursday.

The dollar was mixed against other major currencies. Gold prices fell.

Overseas, Japan's Nikkei stock average rose 1.7 percent. In Europe, Britain's FTSE 100 slipped less than 0.1 percent. Germany's DAX and France's CAC-40 were closed for a holiday.

 

[bigdog]

NYSE Dow Jones finished today at:
Source: http://finance.yahoo.com

The Standard & Poor's 500 index is up for the year. And for once, it was the housing market that sent stocks soaring. The S&P 500, considered Wall Street's most important indicator, bounded up 3.4 percent Monday and erased the last of its losses for 2009. And the Dow Jones industrials shot up more than 200 points and had their first finish above

Two months ago, an S&P 500 in positive ground would have seemed impossible, with the stock market having fallen to 12-year lows on fears of a worsening recession. Monday's rally was led by the same financial and housing stocks that were decimated by the credit crisis and the sinking economy, and it added more momentum to a stunning rally that began March 10.

A double dose of good housing news ignited the advance: Pending U.S. home sales rose more than forecast and had their second straight monthly gain, while construction spending rose unexpectedly in March after five straight declines.

The NYSE DOW closed HIGHER +214.33 points +2.61% on Monday May 4
Sym Last........ ........Change..........
Dow 8,426.74 +214.33 +2.61%
Nasdaq 1,763.56 +44.36 +2.58%
S&P 500 907.24 +29.72 +3.39%
30-yr Bond 4.0650% -0.0230

NYSE Volume 11,675,107,000 (prior day 6,178,385,000)
Nasdaq Volume 2,588,399,250 (prior day 2,522,047,000)

Europe
Symbol... Last...... .....Change.......
FTSE 100 4,243.22 Holiday
DAX 4,902.45 +133.00 +2.79%
CAC 40 3,237.97 +78.12 +2.47%

Asia
Symbol..... Last...... .....Change.......
Nikkei 225 8,977.37 closed Monday through Wednesday for the "Golden Week" holidays.
Hang Seng 16,381.05 +860.06 +5.54%
Straits Times 2,027.45 +107.17

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Stock...27.html?sec=topStories&pos=main&asset=&ccode=

Stocks surge; S&P 500 turns positive for 2009

Surging stocks vault S&P 500 higher for the year as pending home sales data boost mood

* Tim Paradis and Sara Lepro, AP Business Writers
* On Monday May 4, 2009, 6:24 pm EDT

NEW YORK (AP) -- The Standard & Poor's 500 index is up for the year. And for once, it was the housing market that sent stocks soaring. The S&P 500, considered Wall Street's most important indicator, bounded up 3.4 percent Monday and erased the last of its losses for 2009. And the Dow Jones industrials shot up more than 200 points and had their first finish above

Two months ago, an S&P 500 in positive ground would have seemed impossible, with the stock market having fallen to 12-year lows on fears of a worsening recession. Monday's rally was led by the same financial and housing stocks that were decimated by the credit crisis and the sinking economy, and it added more momentum to a stunning rally that began March 10.

A double dose of good housing news ignited the advance: Pending U.S. home sales rose more than forecast and had their second straight monthly gain, while construction spending rose unexpectedly in March after five straight declines.

With Monday's gain, the S&P has soared 34.1 percent in the 39 trading days since the rally began, its steepest gain over that many days since 1933. The Dow, meanwhile, is up 28.7 percent.

Investors are betting that a stream of slowly improving data since early March mean that the economy, and Wall Street itself, have found a bottom. As they've kept buying, they've also overlooked reports, including millions of lost jobs, that point to continuing economic weakness.

Still, as dramatic as the rally has been, no one is describing the market as euphoric, and analysts are warning that Wall Street might not be able to sustain its advance. Monday's gain came on moderate trading volume, a sign that some investors are still cautious.

"The bear market may not be over," said David Kotok, chairman and chief investment officer of Cumberland Advisors. He pointed out that the real estate market is still weakening and banks are still taking losses on loans.

"We have the makings of a 'V' or the first half of a 'W,' " Kotok said, referring to the shape of the stock market's path. "The upward leg looks the same ... Only time will tell."

The S&P 500, the market barometer preferred by professional investors, is now up 0.4 percent for 2009. That matters not only for market watchers -- many investments including mutual funds either mirror or are measured against the index. The Dow is still down 4 percent for the year.

The S&P 500 index rose 29.72 Monday to 907.24, its first close above 900 since Jan. 8. It had shown a gain for the year only during the first five trading days of January, before the market began a huge drop that carried the S&P 500 and the Dow to their lowest levels since 1997.

The Dow rose 214.33, or 2.6 percent, to 8,426.74.

The Nasdaq composite index rose 44.36, or 2.6 percent, to 1,753.56. The Nasdaq, with a big representation of high-tech and smaller company stocks, has run ahead of the other indexes, and is up 11.8 percent in 2009.

The rally came after the National Association of Realtors said its index of pending sales for previously occupied homes rose 3.2 percent to 84.6. That was well ahead of the 82.1 economists had been expecting and the second month of gains after the index hit a record low in January.

Separately, the Commerce Department said construction spending rose 0.3 percent, the best showing since a similar increase last September. Economists surveyed by Thomson Reuters had expected spending to drop 1.5 percent.

Jerry Webman, chief economist at Oppenheimer Funds Inc., said stocks are rallying because investors aren't fearful as they were months ago that the economy is headed for the abyss.

"There's been this fear that every six months another shoe drops and maybe there isn't a shoe in mid-air right now," he said.

The pending home sales data touched off a rally in home builder stocks. KBR Inc. rose $1.25, or 7.9 percent, to $17.15, while Lennar Corp. rose 88 cents, or 9.3 percent, to $10.34.

The market's enthusiasm will be put to several tests this week including the April employment report, one of the most closely watched economic indicators, which comes out on Friday.

Another concern for the market is the release Thursday of the results of the government's "stress tests" on the 19 largest U.S. financial companies. Some analysts have worried in recent weeks that renewed anxiety about the state of the financial system could upend the market's powerful two-month advance.

But investors set aside some worries about financial companies even as analysts predict that the tests -- designed to determine which banks would need more cash if the recession worsens -- will show that several banks need more capital.

The Financial Times reported Sunday that Citigroup Inc. and Bank of America Corp. are working on plans to raise more than $10 billion each as they negotiate with regulators over the findings of the stress tests.

Citigroup declined to comment, and a Bank of America spokesman called the report "completely inaccurate." Citi rose 23 cents, or 7.7 percent, to $3.20, while Bank of America jumped $1.68, or 19.3 percent, to $10.38.

Investors shrugged off word that regulators told Wells Fargo & Co. to shore up its finances after the "stress tests" showed the bank would have trouble surviving a deeper recession.

Wells Fargo is one of several banks regulators will force to have larger capital buffers to protect them against possible future losses, according to two people familiar with the matter who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the process. The company declined to comment.

Wells Fargo rose $4.64, or 23.7 percent, to $24.25.

In other trading, the Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 19.84, or 4.1 percent, to 506.82.

About five stocks rose for every one that fell on the New York Stock Exchange, where consolidated volume came to 6.9 billion shares compared with 5.2 billion shares traded Friday.

The economic reports and a big purchase of government debt by the Federal Reserve left bonds little changed. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note slipped to 3.16 percent from 3.17 percent late Friday.

The dollar was mixed against other major currencies, while gold prices rose.

Light, sweet crude rose $1.27 to settle at $54.47 on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Overseas, Germany's DAX rose 2.8 percent and France's CAC-40 gained 2.5 percent. Markets in Japan and London were closed for holidays.

 

[bigdog]

NYSE Dow Jones finished today at:
Source: http://finance.yahoo.com

Sometimes a down day on Wall Street can be a good thing -- especially when it shows that investors are carefully weighing their next steps.

Traders collected a few profits Tuesday, leaving the major indexes with fairly modest losses, as the market waited for key reports on the government's assessment of banks' health and the latest numbers on jobs.

But stocks held on to most of their gains from Monday, which saw the Standard & Poor's 500 index recoup the last of its losses since the beginning of the year. That advance came on hopeful signs in the housing market and extended a two-month rally that brought stocks up from 12-year lows.

The NYSE DOW closed LOWER -16.09 points -0.19% on TuesdayMonday May 5
Sym Last........ ........Change..........
Dow 8,410.65 -16.09 -0.19%
Nasdaq 1,754.12 -9.44 -0.54%
S&P 500 903.80 -3.44 -0.38%
30-yr Bond 4.0530% -0.0120

NYSE Volume 7,860,197,500 (prior day 11,675,107,000)
Nasdaq Volume 2,989,067,250 (prior day 2,588,399,250)


Europe
Symbol... Last...... .....Change.......
FTSE 100 4,336.94 +93.72 +2.21%
DAX 4,853.03 -49.42 -1.01%
CAC 40 3,225.00 -12.97 -0.40%

Asia
Symbol..... Last...... .....Change.......
Nikkei 225 8,977.37 closed Monday through Wednesday for the "Golden Week" holidays.
Hang Seng 16,430.08 +49.03 +0.30%
Straits Times 2,074.35 +45.64 +2.25%

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Stock...75.html?sec=topStories&pos=main&asset=&ccode=

Stocks slip as traders take profits after surge

Street slips as traders take profits after big jump; 'Stress test' results loom; Dow falls 16

* Tim Paradis, AP Business Writers
* On Tuesday May 5, 2009, 6:10 pm EDT

NEW YORK (AP) -- Sometimes a down day on Wall Street can be a good thing -- especially when it shows that investors are carefully weighing their next steps.

Traders collected a few profits Tuesday, leaving the major indexes with fairly modest losses, as the market waited for key reports on the government's assessment of banks' health and the latest numbers on jobs.

But stocks held on to most of their gains from Monday, which saw the Standard & Poor's 500 index recoup the last of its losses since the beginning of the year. That advance came on hopeful signs in the housing market and extended a two-month rally that brought stocks up from 12-year lows.

"Today's action, just drifting around, is not that surprising given Monday's rally," said Darin Newsom, a senior analyst at DTN in Omaha, Neb.

Many analysts believe it's actually good for the market to pause after a big advance, particularly when Wall Street has had its best two-month performance in nearly 35 years. Tuesday's showing proved that investors aren't buying with abandon, and are considering whether they want to put more money into stocks given the challenges the market faces later this week.

On Thursday, the government will release results of its stress tests on banks, and on Friday, the Labor Department issues some of the most closely watched data on the Street, its monthly tally of job losses and unemployment.

The Dow fell 16.09, or 0.2 percent, to 8,410.65.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 3.44, or 0.4 percent, to 903.80. The modest pullback left the index essentially flat for the year to date. The S&P 500 is widely used as a benchmark for mutual funds and other investments.

The Nasdaq composite index lost 9.44, or 0.5 percent, to 1,754.12, and the Russell 2000 index of smaller companies fell 4.27, or 0.8 percent, to 502.55.

About eight stocks fell for every seven that rose on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume came to 1.5 billion shares.

Investors showed little reaction to the day's economic data, including a private report on the service sector that showed a seventh straight month of contraction. However, the pace of that decline slowed more than expected -- further evidence that the economy's slide is moderating.

Investors are mindful that the stock market typically turns around, on average, about four months ahead of the economy, so stocks tend to rise even when economic data still isn't robust. The S&P 500 is up 33.6 percent since Wall Street's rally began March 10. The Dow is up 28.5 percent.

Liz Ann Sonders, chief investment strategist for brokerage Charles Schwab & Co., said at a press briefing in New York that the economy could have stopped sliding.

"There is some chance -- it may not be more than a slim chance -- but some chance that we may actually already be out of the recession," she said.

Still, the market could easily decide to take a less optimistic view of what it sees.

"Over the past several weeks we've come through a period where all data was interpreted through rose-colored glasses," said Lawrence Creatura, portfolio manager at Federated Investors. "Now, it's a question of whether investors continue to have that perspective."

A keen point of interest for the market right now is what the government will say Thursday when it releases the results of the bank "stress tests," which will determine which banks may need to raise more capital.

The Wall Street Journal reported that about 10 of the 19 financial institutions undergoing the tests will be required to boost their capital levels as a buffer against potential future losses. The report cited several unidentified people familiar with the matter.

Regulators have said no large institution would be allowed to fail, and have pledged government funds if necessary.

Financial stocks were mixed. Bank of America Corp. rose 46 cents, or 4.4 percent, to $10.84, while Wells Fargo & Co. fell 98 cents, or 4 percent, to $23.27.

Dow component Kraft Foods Inc. said its first-quarter profit rose a better-than-expected 10 percent even as sales dropped. Shares of the maker of Velveeta, Oreo cookies and Maxwell House coffee rose 96 cents, or 4 percent, to $25.22.

Bond prices dipped, pushing the yield on the 10-year Treasury note up to 3.17 percent from 3.16 percent late Monday. Mortgage rates were mixed. The average overnight rate for a 30-year fixed rate was 5.03 percent, up from 4.86 percent last week, according to Bankrate.com.

The dollar was mixed against other major currencies, while gold prices rose.

Light, sweet crude fell 63 cents to settle at $53.84 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Overseas, Britain's FTSE 100 rose 2.2 percent, Germany's DAX index fell 1 percent, and France's CAC-40 fell 0.4 percent. Markets in Japan were closed for a holiday.

 

[bigdog]

NYSE Dow Jones finished today at:
Source: http://finance.yahoo.com

Investors are feeling more confident about putting their money in banks.

Financial stocks led the market higher Wednesday as media reports trickled out that indicated balance sheets at the nation's biggest banks might not be as frayed as some had feared.

The word came a day ahead of the formal release of results from government "stress tests" aimed at determining which banks need to raise more capital. Investors relieved to have some answers scooped up shares of most banks, even those expected to have to come up with new money.

The NYSE DOW closed HIGHER +101.63 points +1.21% on Wednesday May 6
Sym Last........ ........Change..........
Dow 8,512.28 +101.63 +1.21%
Nasdaq 1,759.10 +4.98 +0.28%
S&P 500 919.53 +15.73 +1.74%
10 Yr Bond(%) 3.1520% -0.0050

NYSE Volume 14,244,090,000 (prior day 7,860,197,500 )
Nasdaq Volume 3,029,918,500 (prior day 2,989,067,250)


Europe
Symbol... Last...... .....Change.......
FTSE 100 4,396.49 +59.55 +1.37%
DAX 4,880.71 +27.68 +0.57%
CAC 40 3,283.51 +58.51 +1.81%

Asia
Symbol..... Last...... .....Change.......
Nikkei 225 8,977.37 closed Monday through Wednesday for the "Golden Week" holidays.
Hang Seng 16,834.57 +404.49 +2.46%
Straits Times 2,179.03 +104.68 +5.05%

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Stock...05.html?sec=topStories&pos=main&asset=&ccode=

Stocks jump as fears ebb about bank 'stress tests'

Stocks end higher as reports douse worries about 'stress tests' on banks; Dow jumps 102

* Tim Paradis and Sara Lepro, AP Business Writers
* On Wednesday May 6, 2009, 4:28 pm EDT

NEW YORK (AP) -- Investors are feeling more confident about putting their money in banks.

Financial stocks led the market higher Wednesday as media reports trickled out that indicated balance sheets at the nation's biggest banks might not be as frayed as some had feared.

The word came a day ahead of the formal release of results from government "stress tests" aimed at determining which banks need to raise more capital. Investors relieved to have some answers scooped up shares of most banks, even those expected to have to come up with new money.

"To me, this rally has been more a recognition that maybe the end of the world is not at hand," said Philip S. Dow, managing director of equity strategy at RBC Wealth Management.

American Express Co., JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Bank of New York Mellon Corp. will not be asked to raise more capital when federal officials announce the test results Thursday afternoon, but Regions Financial Corp. will need to bolster its reserves, according to people briefed on the results. Those people requested anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the tests.

Citigroup Inc. will need to raise about $5 billion, according to a government official who requested anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the matter. Earlier news reports put that number closer to $10 billion.

Bank of America Corp. and Wells Fargo & Co. also will be asked to raise capital, people familiar with the matter said earlier this week.

According to preliminary calculations, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 101.63, or 1.2 percent, to 8,512.28. The blue chips closed above the 8,500 mark for the first time since Jan. 9, leaving the Dow down only 3 percent for 2009.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 15.73, or 1.7 percent, to 919.53. The gains pushed the index higher for the year after a rally on Monday helped erase its losses from 2009.

The Nasdaq composite index rose 4.98, or 0.3 percent, to 1,759.10.

 

[bigdog]

NYSE Dow Jones finished today at:
Source: http://finance.yahoo.com

NASDAQ CLIMBS LIKE IT'S 1999

For the week, the Dow rose 4.4 percent and the S&P 500 gained 5.9 percent, while the Nasdaq jumped 1.2 percent.

U.S. stocks rose on Friday, and the Nasdaq capped its longest stretch of weekly gains in a decade as stress test results and reassuring jobs data fueled hopes the worst is over for banks and the economy.

Financial shares led a broad run-up again, a day after regulators said most U.S. banks were sound. The KBW Bank index (Philadelphia:^BKX - News) surged 12.1 percent.

Shares of No. 2 U.S. bank JPMorgan Chase Inc (NYSE:JPM - News) climbed 10.5 percent to $38.94, making the stock the Dow's top gainer. A 3.4 percent gain in oil prices above $58 a barrel bolstered energy companies' shares, led by Chevron Corp (NYSE:CVX - News), which rose 3.5 percent to $70.38.


The NYSE DOW closed HIGHER +164.80 points +1.96% on Friday May 8
Sym Last........ ........Change..........
Dow 8,574.65 +164.80 +1.96%
Nasdaq 1,739.00 +22.76 +1.33%
S&P 500 929.23 +21.84 +2.41%
30-yr Bond 4.2740% +0.0130

NYSE Volume 9,656,935,000
Nasdaq Volume 3,627,305,250

Europe
Symbol... Last...... .....Change.......
FTSE 100 4,462.09 +63.41 +1.44%
DAX 4,913.90 +109.80 +2.29%
CAC 40 3,312.59 +61.07 +1.88%

Asia
Symbol..... Last...... .....Change.......
Nikkei 225 9,432.83 +47.13 +0.50%
Hang Seng 17,389.87 +171.98 +1.00%
Straits Times 2,238.21 -3.39 -0.15%

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Wall-...81.html?sec=topStories&pos=main&asset=&ccode=

Wall St leaps on bank optimism, jobs data

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks rose on Friday, and the Nasdaq capped its longest stretch of weekly gains in a decade as stress test results and reassuring jobs data fueled hopes the worst is over for banks and the economy.

Financial shares led a broad run-up again, a day after regulators said most U.S. banks were sound. The KBW Bank index (Philadelphia:^BKX - News) surged 12.1 percent.

Shares of No. 2 U.S. bank JPMorgan Chase Inc (NYSE:JPM - News) climbed 10.5 percent to $38.94, making the stock the Dow's top gainer. A 3.4 percent gain in oil prices above $58 a barrel bolstered energy companies' shares, led by Chevron Corp (NYSE:CVX - News), which rose 3.5 percent to $70.38.

The release of the stress test results "has given people a little bit of confidence that the government can help to solve this part of the financial crisis," said Richard Sparks, senior equities analyst and options trader at Schaeffer's Investment Research in Cincinnati.

"There's a sense that the government actually has a logical plan ... even if things got worse, these companies will be able to survive. That helps bolster confidence in the administration."

NASDAQ CLIMBS LIKE IT'S 1999

For the week, the Dow rose 4.4 percent and the S&P 500 gained 5.9 percent, while the Nasdaq jumped 1.2 percent.

The Nasdaq registered its ninth straight weekly advance, the longest such streak for the index since an 11-week climb in December 1999. Since hitting a 12-year closing low in March, the S&P has surged 37.4 percent, but it is still down 40 percent from its record of October 2007.

Shares of Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC - News) jumped 13.8 percent to $28.18 and shares of Bank of America (NYSE:BAC - News) , the largest U.S. bank, gained 4.9 percent to $14.17, while Citigroup (NYSE:C - News) climbed 5.5 percent to $4.02.

U.S. regulators told top banks after the close on Thursday to raise $74.6 billion to build a capital cushion that officials hope will restore faith in financial companies and set a course out of the deepest recession in decades.

Several of the large banks have announced equity and debt offerings in an attempt to raise capital.

Bank of America Chief Executive Kenneth Lewis said in an interview on CNBC he anticipates about $10 billion in asset sales and that he is "pretty confident" the bank will do better than the stress test results indicate. Regulators told his bank it needed $33.9 billion of fresh capital.

The 539,000 jobs cut by employers in April was the smallest reduction since October, and hinted at some improvement in the labor market, but the unemployment rate soared to 8.9 percent, the highest since September 1983.

Web search leader Google Inc (NasdaqGS:GOOG - News), up 2.7 percent at $407.33, gave the Nasdaq its biggest boost, followed by Activision Blizzard Inc (NasdaqGS:ATVI - News), up 7.4 percent at $11.81.

Sanford C. Bernstein, a brokerage, raised its price target on Google's stock to $600. Activision, the video-game maker, posted quarterly results that topped Wall Street's estimates and raised its 2009 forecast.

Hopes of an economic recovery pushed U.S. front-month crude up $1.92, or 3.4 percent, to settle at $58.63 a barrel, and gave investors a reason to buy energy shares. Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM - News) shares added 2.7 percent to $70.80.

Trading volume was active on the New York Stock Exchange, with about 1.90 billion shares changing hands, above last year's estimated daily average volume of 1.49 billion, while on Nasdaq, about 3.18 billion shares traded, also well above last year's daily average of 2.28 billion.

Advancing stocks outnumbered declining ones by 2,645 to 431 on the NYSE, and by 2,049 to 681 on Nasdaq.

 

[bigdog]

NYSE Dow Jones finished today at:
Source: http://finance.yahoo.com

The financial stocks that fueled Wall Street last week ran dry on Monday.

Bank shares dragged the market lower as traders worried that stocks, and particularly the hard-hit financials, had risen too quickly since the stock market's rally began two months ago.

Some of last week's relief over the reassuring marks most banks earned during government "stress tests" evaporated Monday as investors looked ahead.

Four of the banks that Washington determined were sound enough to survive a worsening in the economy said Monday they planned to issue shares to help repay loans the government doled out last fall to lubricate the nation's stalled financial system.



The NYSE DOW closed LOWER -155.88 points -1.82% on Monday May 11
Sym Last........ ........Change..........
Dow 8,418.77 -155.88 -1.82%
Nasdaq 1,731.24 -7.76 -0.45%
S&P 500 909.24 -19.99 -2.15%
30-yr Bond 4.1800% -0.0940

NYSE Volume 7,258,065,000 (prior day 9,656,935,000)
Nasdaq Volume 2,557,303,500 (prior day 3,627,305,250)


Europe
Symbol... Last...... .....Change.......
FTSE 100 4,435.50 -26.60 -0.60%
DAX 4,866.91 -46.99 -0.96%
CAC 40 3,248.67 -63.92


Asia
Symbol..... Last...... .....Change.......
Nikkei 225 9,451.98 +19.15 +0.20%
Hang Seng 17,087.95 -301.92 -1.74%
Straits Times 2,166.10 -72.11 -3.22%

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Finan...54.html?sec=topStories&pos=main&asset=&ccode=

Financials pull stocks lower after fanning rally

Investors put 2-month rally on hold; Financials sink as banks raise capital; Dow falls 156
Tim Paradis, AP Business Writer
On Monday May 11, 2009, 5:34 pm EDT

NEW YORK (AP) -- The financial stocks that fueled Wall Street last week ran dry on Monday.

Bank shares dragged the market lower as traders worried that stocks, and particularly the hard-hit financials, had risen too quickly since the stock market's rally began two months ago.

Some of last week's relief over the reassuring marks most banks earned during government "stress tests" evaporated Monday as investors looked ahead.

Four of the banks that Washington determined were sound enough to survive a worsening in the economy said Monday they planned to issue shares to help repay loans the government doled out last fall to lubricate the nation's stalled financial system.

While it's a welcome sign that banks can again turn to Wall Street to raise money by selling stock, the reality of extra shares pouring into the market weighed on financial stocks. Technology shares fared better after Microsoft Corp. moved ahead with its first-ever debt offering.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 156 points. The KBW Bank Index, which tracks 24 of the nation's largest banks, slid 7.1 percent after jumping 12.1 percent Friday.

U.S. Bancorp, Capital One Financial Corp. and BB&T Corp. said they hoped to raise $1.5 billion to $2.5 billion through stock sales. Bank of New York Mellon Corp. said it would offer $1 billion in stock.

Scott Fullman, director of derivatives investment strategy for WJB Capital Group in New York, noted that the Dow has risen about 30 percent since March -- about twice as much as the market might do in a full year of strong gains.

"To take a break here is healthy," he said.

The sell-off wasn't across the board and trading was light compared with last week. That suggests many buyers were taking a break, and not that sellers were out in force.

Two stocks fell for every one that rose on the New York Stock Exchange as analysts said the market was overdue for a break. Last week alone, Wells Fargo & Co. jumped 43.7 percent and JPMorgan Chase & Co. rose 19.9 percent.

The Dow fell 155.88, or 1.8 percent, to 8,418.77. The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 19.99, or 2.2 percent, to 909.24, while the Nasdaq composite index fell 7.76, or 0.5 percent, to 1,731.24.

Wall Street will continue to keep watch over banks but also will be looking for insights into the health of consumers as traders search for the next catalyst that could continue to pull the market from the 12-year lows of early March.

First-quarter earnings figures are expected this week from Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Macy's Inc. and other retailers and the government reports retail sales for April.

Consumer spending accounts for more than two-thirds of U.S. economic activity so investors will be eager for forecasts from retailers to help determine whether the economy is stabilizing as investors have been betting the past two months.

Last week, with the help of financials, the Dow gained 4.4 percent. The S&P 500 index rose 5.9 percent and the Nasdaq gained 1.2 percent.

Even with Monday's slide, the S&P 500 index is up 34.4 percent from early March. however, it is still down 42 percent from its high in October 2007.

U.S. Bancorp fell $2.04, or 9.9 percent, to $18.50, while Capital One fell $4.24, or 13.5 percent, to $27.10. BB&T fell $1.99, or 7.6 percent, to $24.34.

KeyCorp, which is one of the 10 big banks the government said has to raise more capital to protect against possible loan losses, also said it would offer up to $750 million of its shares. Key fell 69 cents, or 9.9 percent, to $6.28.

Microsoft didn't say how much it hopes to raise in its offering, but in September the company's board said the company could take on as much as $6 billion in debt. The software maker, which has more than $25 billion in cash, said it plans to use the money for working capital. The stock slipped 10 cents to $19.32.

"When Microsoft comes in and does a deal I think it's a vote of confidence in technology," said Nick Kalivas, vice president of financial research at MF Global in Chicago. He noted that the money it raises could allow Microsoft to go on a shopping spree to acquire attractive technology companies.

Dish Network jumped $2.61, or 17 percent, to $17.92 after the company said its first-quarter profit rose 21 percent as revenue climbed partly on equipment sales.

Energy stocks fell as light, sweet crude slipped 13 cents to $58.50 per barrel. Chevron Texaco fell $2.38, or 3.4 percent, to $68, while Occidental Petroleum Corp. fell $2.44, or 3.7 percent, to $62.88.

Some analysts say the rally is doomed to collapse because investors are becoming too quick to declare that the economy's problems are receding.

Christian Bendixen, director of technical research at Bay Crest Partners LLC in New York, said the economy remains troubled beyond what many analysts concede and that he expects the market will tumble again and perhaps breach the lowest levels of early March.

"It's time to be a little more defensive," he said, pointing to areas like consumer staples, health care and energy stocks.

Bond prices mostly rose. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note fell to 3.17 percent from 3.29 percent late Friday.

The dollar was mixed against other major currencies, while gold prices fell.

Volume on the NYSE came to 1.5 billion shares.

Overseas, Britain's FTSE 100 fell 0.6 percent, Germany's DAX index lost 1 percent, and France's CAC-40 slid 1.9 percent. Japan's Nikkei stock average rose 0.2 percent.

 

[bigdog]

NYSE Dow Jones finished today at:
Source: http://finance.yahoo.com

Wall Street is back on the defensive.

Stocks ended mixed but well off their lows Tuesday as early concerns about a barrage of stock offerings eased and rising oil prices lifted energy stocks. The Dow Jones industrials rose 50 points, while broader indicators fell.

Investors turned to defensive corners of the market, driving up shares of drugmakers like Pfizer Inc. and food and drink producers like Coca-Cola Inc., which tend to hold up better in economic downturns.

The fluctuations came as some traders worried that the economic recovery won't be as brisk as hoped when stocks were posting big gains over the past eight weeks. Stock offerings from companies trying to raise cash has stirred concerns about the loss in value that existing shares would incur as more shares are issued.

The NYSE DOW closed HIGHER +50.34 points +0.60% on Tuesday May 12
Sym Last........ ........Change..........
Dow 8,469.11 +50.34 +0.60%
Nasdaq 1,715.92 -15.32 -0.88%
S&P 500 908.35 -0.89 -0.10%
30-yr Bond 4.16% -0.02

NYSE Volume 8,370,044,500 (prior day 7,258,065,000)
Nasdaq Volume 2,536,077,750 (prior day 2,557,303,500)

Europe
Symbol... Last...... .....Change.......
FTSE 100 4,425.54 -9.96 -0.22%
DAX 4,854.11 -12.80 -0.26%
CAC 40 3,231.10 -17.57 -0.54%

Asia
Symbol..... Last...... .....Change.......
Nikkei 225 9,298.61 -153.37 -1.62%
Hang Seng 17,153.64 +65.69 +0.38%
Straits Times 2,178.13 +12.03

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Inves...64.html?sec=topStories&pos=main&asset=&ccode=

Investors hunt defensive stocks as rally stalls

Wall Street ends mixed; investors find little as they seek next catalyst for 2-month rally

Tim Paradis and Stephen Bernard, AP Business Writers
On Tuesday May 12, 2009, 6:00 pm EDT

NEW YORK (AP) -- Wall Street is back on the defensive.

Stocks ended mixed but well off their lows Tuesday as early concerns about a barrage of stock offerings eased and rising oil prices lifted energy stocks. The Dow Jones industrials rose 50 points, while broader indicators fell.

Investors turned to defensive corners of the market, driving up shares of drugmakers like Pfizer Inc. and food and drink producers like Coca-Cola Inc., which tend to hold up better in economic downturns.

The fluctuations came as some traders worried that the economic recovery won't be as brisk as hoped when stocks were posting big gains over the past eight weeks. Stock offerings from companies trying to raise cash has stirred concerns about the loss in value that existing shares would incur as more shares are issued.

But the dip also brought investors looking to jump into a market that has rallied more than 30 percent since early March.

"You have people who missed this mammoth rally and now those people are taking the opportunity on any pullback to buy," said Jeffrey Frankel, president of Stuart Frankel & Co.

The financial stocks that pounded the market to 12-year lows in March and then led the bounce higher fell for a second day. Even after sliding this week, bank shares have roughly doubled since early March, as measured by the KBW Bank Index.

Investors also pulled money from technology stocks after the Nasdaq composite index closed at a six-month high last week. The slide Monday and mixed finish Tuesday makes it difficult to tell whether Wall Street might be able to restart its stalled two-month rally.

The Dow rose 50.34, or 0.6 percent, to 8,469.11 after falling 155 on Monday. The S&P 500 index slipped 0.89, or 0.1 percent, to 908.35 and the Nasdaq fell 15.32, or 0.9 percent, to 1,715.92.

Analysts said a break in the market's ascent had been overdue. The jump came as economic and corporate reports signaled the economy could be stabilizing.

Matt Lloyd, chief investment strategist at Advisors Asset Management Inc., expects the rally will resume and that a slowdown is healthy.

"We need to kind of walk at a brisk pace as opposed to sprint," he said.

The market retreated Monday after four banks announced plans to raise capital by selling common stock.

How well the market can absorb the new shares likely will be an important tests of its health, some analysts say. TrimTabs Investment Research estimates companies will introduce at least $50 billion in new stock into the market this month. That would be the highest since May 2001.

The pace of offerings could be a good sign, analysts said. Months ago, companies whose shares had been pummeled wouldn't have turned to the stock market for cash.

"Longer term, bigger picture, it is one of those underpinnings of strength," said Steve Sachs, director of trading at Rydex Investments.

Traders grew jittery Tuesday after Anadarko Petroleum Corp.'s stock fell below the $45.50 offering price for a sale of 30 million shares. But the stock ended above that level, falling $2.93, or 6 percent, to $45.91.

Some banks selling stock fell for a second day. Regions Financial tumbled 57 cents, or 9.6 percent, to $5.35, while SunTrust Banks Inc. fell $2.30, or 12.4 percent, to $16.21.

Investors in the nation's big automakers also worried about seeing the value of their shares diluted. Ford Motor Co., which hasn't taken government aid, fell $1.07, or 17.6 percent, to $5.01 after announcing a stock offering.

GM shares tumbled to their lowest level since 1933 as investors worried that their shares would lose value if more are issued or the company declares bankruptcy. The company faces a June 1 restructuring deadline.

GM, one of the 30 stocks that make up the Dow industrials, fell 29 cents, or 20.1 percent, to $1.15 and traded as low as $1.09.

In other trading, Dow components Pfizer rose 78 cents, or 5.5 percent, to $14.93, while Coca Cola rose $1.65, or 3.9 percent, to $44.40.

Homebuilders fell after the National Association of Realtors said home prices slid in nearly nine out of every 10 U.S. cities in the first three months of the year as first-time buyers in search of bargains dominated the market.

Pulte Homes Inc. fell 52 cents, or 4.6 percent, to $10.71, while Toll Brothers Inc. fell 48 cents, or 2.4 percent, to $19.82.

Many retailers fell a day ahead of a government report on retail sales. Macy's Inc., which is expected to report quarterly results Wednesday, fell 34 cents, or 2.7 percent, to $12.35.

Energy stocks rose as crude rose above $60 a barrel for the first time since early November before settling on the New York Mercantile Exchange up 35 cents at $58.85 per barrel.

Exxon Mobil Corp. rose 1.55, or 2.2 percent, to $70.82, while Schlumberger Ltd. rose 98 cents, or 1.8 percent, to $55.75.

In other trading, the Russell 2000 index of smaller companies fell 6.76, or 1.4 percent, to 495.18.

Three stocks fell for every two that rose on the New York Stock Exchange, where consolidated volume came to 6.7 billion shares compared with 5.9 billion shares traded Monday.

Bond prices fell but pulled off their lows after the Federal Reserve bought about $6 billion in government debt Tuesday as part of its effort to drive down interest rates and reduce the costs of loans like mortgages.

The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note rose to 3.18 percent from 3.17 percent late Monday.

The dollar was mixed against other major currencies, while gold prices rose.

Overseas, Britain's FTSE 100 slipped 0.2 percent, Germany's DAX index lost 0.3 percent, and France's CAC-40 fell 0.5 percent. Japan's Nikkei stock average fell 1.6 percent.

 

[bigdog]

NYSE Dow Jones finished today at:
Source: http://finance.yahoo.com
54,500

Investors are looking at the economy more skeptically.

Stocks retreated more than 2 percent on Wednesday and bond prices rose after two reports suggested the economy is not bouncing back as quickly as investors hoped.

The Commerce Department said retail sales unexpectedly fell in April for the second straight month, while RealtyTrac Inc. reported a troubling rise in home foreclosures.

Investors are mindful that the Dow Jones industrial average spiked 31 percent from its early March lows -- the biggest jump in such a short span since the 1930s. After Wednesday's decline the index is still up 26.5 percent from March 9, but investors are now wondering if the market will see a sharper pullback.

The NYSE DOW closed LOWER -184.22 points -2.18% on Wednesday May 13
Sym Last........ ........Change..........
Dow 8,284.89 -184.22 -2.18%
Nasdaq 1,664.19 -51.73 -3.01%
S&P 500 883.92 -24.43 -2.69%
30-yr Bond 4.0850% -0.0720

NYSE Volume 8,468,682,000 (prior day 8,370,044,500)
Nasdaq Volume 2,426,824,250 (prior day 2,536,077,750)

Europe
Symbol... Last...... .....Change.......
FTSE 100 4,331.37 -94.17 -2.13%
DAX 4,727.61 -126.50 -2.61%
CAC 40 3,152.90 -78.20 -2.42%


Asia
Symbol..... Last...... .....Change.......
Nikkei 225 9,340.49 +41.88 +0.45%
Hang Seng 17,059.62 -94.02 -0.55%
Straits Times 2,185.29 +7.16 +0.33%

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Stock...10.html?sec=topStories&pos=main&asset=&ccode=

Stocks fall on weak retail sales, foreclosure jump

Wall Street pulls back after weaker-than-expected retail sales report, jump in foreclosures

Madlen Read and Stephen Bernard, AP Business Writers
On Wednesday May 13, 2009, 5:41 pm EDT
NEW YORK (AP) -- Investors are looking at the economy more skeptically.

Stocks retreated more than 2 percent on Wednesday and bond prices rose after two reports suggested the economy is not bouncing back as quickly as investors hoped.

The Commerce Department said retail sales unexpectedly fell in April for the second straight month, while RealtyTrac Inc. reported a troubling rise in home foreclosures.

Investors are mindful that the Dow Jones industrial average spiked 31 percent from its early March lows -- the biggest jump in such a short span since the 1930s. After Wednesday's decline the index is still up 26.5 percent from March 9, but investors are now wondering if the market will see a sharper pullback.

Analysts say a drop of 10 percent from the market's recent peak would hardly be surprising, especially since recent economic readings have failed to beat forecasts.

"Overall, it's just a market that's due for a pause, due for a pullback, due for consolidation," said Quincy Krosby, chief investment strategist for The Hartford. "You don't want markets to skyrocket. The higher you go, the deeper you fall."

Few analysts, however, anticipate the stock market to sink lower than it did in March.

"What we've done over the past month-and-a-half is remove this idea of Armageddon," said Charlie Smith, chief investment officer at Fort Pitt Capital.

The Dow fell 184.22, or 2.2 percent, to 8,284.89.

Broader stock indicators sank even more sharply. The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 24.43, or 2.7 percent, to 883.92, while the Nasdaq composite index declined 51.73, or 3 percent, to 1,664.19.

During the market's two-month advance, investors grew accustomed to data indicating that the economy, while not growing, was at least bottoming out. This week, unexpectedly worse data has thrown a wrench into the works.

On Wednesday, economists predicted April retail sales would be flat, but instead they fell, and March's sales decline was revised to an even larger drop.

Macy's Inc. offered another sign that consumer spending is not on the rebound. The department store operator said its loss in the first-quarter widened from a year ago to $88 million. Macy's fell 83 cents, or 6.7 percent, to $11.52.

Meanwhile, the main driver of the recession -- the collapsing housing market -- has yet to turn around. RealtyTrac data said April's foreclosures were up 32 percent from a year ago, and up slightly from March. It was the second straight month that more than 340,000 U.S. households received a foreclosure filing.

More economic data is on the way this week. Nicholas Colas, chief market strategist at BNY ConvergEx, said Thursday's weekly unemployment claims report is weighing on the market. The release will be the first to fully incorporate plant closings at Chrysler LLC -- making it a "real wild card," he said.

"As a trader," he said, "do you want to build positions ahead of the number?"

Financial stocks once again drove the market. The KBW Bank Index, which tracks 24 of the nation's largest banks, fell 6.5 percent.

Krosby pointed to both stock and bond offerings by banks, which dilute current shareholders, and news that the Obama administration wants a say in executive pay at financial institutions.

Bond prices rose on Wednesday's negative economic news, pushing the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, a benchmark for key borrowing rates such as home mortgages, down to 3.12 percent from 3.18 percent late Tuesday. The yield on the three-month T-bill slipped to 0.16 percent from 0.17 percent.

About 9 stocks rose for every one that fell on the New York Stock Exchange, where consolidated volume came to 6.7 billion shares, little changed from Tuesday.

The dollar mostly rose against other major currencies, while gold prices also rose.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies fell 23.36, or 4.7 percent, to 471.82.

Overseas, Japan's Nikkei stock average rose 0.5 percent. Britain's FTSE 100 declined 2.1 percent, Germany's DAX index declined 2.6 percent, and France's CAC-40 fell 2.4 percent.

The biggest gainer in the Dow was General Motors Corp., which dropped to its lowest price since April 1933, and then attracted bargain hunters. GM ended up 6 cents, or 5.2 percent, at $1.21.

CME Group Inc., the parent company of the Chicago Board of Trade and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, rose $15.62, or 6 percent, to $274.10. A draft letter to Congress said the Treasury Department wants a central electronic-based system to track the buying and selling of over-the-counter derivatives.

 

[bigdog]

NYSE Dow Jones finished today at:
Source: http://finance.yahoo.com

Investors put aside jitters about the economy to do a little bargain hunting.

Stocks rose Thursday after three mostly down days as traders bought beaten-down financial and technology stocks. The buying was subdued after a worse-than-expected weekly unemployment report added to concerns that the economic recovery might not come as quickly as hoped.

The market is down sharply this week as investors worry that the optimism that fed a massive spring rally might have been premature. The Standard & Poor's 500 index is still 32 percent above the 12-year low it hit in early March.

The Dow Jones industrial average ended Thursday up 46 points, but lagged gains by the S&P 500 index and Nasdaq composite index. Financial stocks rose after falling earlier in the week and lifted the KBW Bank Index 3.7 percent.

The NYSE DOW closed HIGHER +46.43 points +0.56% on Thursday May 14
Sym Last........ ........Change..........
Dow 8,331.32 +46.43 +0.56%
Nasdaq 1,689.21 +25.02 +1.50%
S&P 500 893.07 +9.15 +1.04%
30-yr Bond 4.0660% -0.0190

NYSE Volume 7,381,978,000 (prior day 8,468,682,000)
Nasdaq Volume 2,224,581,500 (prior day 2,426,824,250)
Europe
Symbol... Last...... .....Change.......
FTSE 100 4,362.58 +31.21 +0.72%
DAX 4,738.47 +10.86 +0.23%
CAC 40 3,156.29 +3.39 +0.11%


Asia
Symbol..... Last...... .....Change.......
Nikkei 225 9,093.73 -246.76 -2.64%
Hang Seng 16,541.69 -517.93 -3.04%
Straits Times 2,122.11 -63.18 -2.89%

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Bank-...96.html?sec=topStories&pos=main&asset=&ccode=

Bank, technology stocks lure in bargain hunters

Investors pick up shares of financial, technology companies after week's slide; Dow rises 46
Tim Paradis and Stephen Bernard, AP Business Writers
On Thursday May 14, 2009, 5:26 pm EDT

NEW YORK (AP) -- Investors put aside jitters about the economy to do a little bargain hunting.

Stocks rose Thursday after three mostly down days as traders bought beaten-down financial and technology stocks. The buying was subdued after a worse-than-expected weekly unemployment report added to concerns that the economic recovery might not come as quickly as hoped.

The market is down sharply this week as investors worry that the optimism that fed a massive spring rally might have been premature. The Standard & Poor's 500 index is still 32 percent above the 12-year low it hit in early March.

The Dow Jones industrial average ended Thursday up 46 points, but lagged gains by the S&P 500 index and Nasdaq composite index. Financial stocks rose after falling earlier in the week and lifted the KBW Bank Index 3.7 percent.

Technology shares gained after software maker CA Inc. said its fiscal fourth-quarter earnings rose as cost-cutting compensated for a drop in revenue.

The advance came as the market grappled with another reminder of the strained job market. The Labor Department's weekly data showed more workers filing for unemployment benefits. New claims jumped to 637,000, above what economists had forecast.

The overall number of people seeking unemployment benefits grew faster than expected, rising to 6.6 million, while continuing claims hit a 15th straight weekly record.

Analysts had expected some rebound after stocks tumbled Wednesday, sending the S&P 500 index down 2.7 percent. The market was shaken by a Commerce Department report that retail sales fell unexpectedly in April for the second straight month, and by a separate report that showed home foreclosures rising.

The twin hits to two key areas of the economy -- consumer spending and the housing market -- have led investors to drop stocks this week and seek the shelter of bonds. That put on hold a powerful rally that carried the market through March and April.

"Expectations got overblown and the harsh unfortunate reality is that unemployment continues to climb and that consumers remain under pressure," said Stuart Schweitzer, global markets strategist at J.P. Morgan's Private Bank. "The green shoots of recent weeks are minor compared with the field of dandelions still present in the economy."

The Dow rose 46.43, or 0.6 percent, to 8,331.32. The S&P 500 index rose 9.15, or 1 percent, to 893.07, while the Nasdaq rose 25.02, or 1.5 percent, to 1,689.21.

More than two stocks rose for every one that fell on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume came to a light 1.5 billion shares.

"I think we're at a crossroads. I'm looking for more evidence to say that this is a sustainable rally," said Jack Ablin, chief investment officer at Harris Private Bank.

That evidence may be hard to come by in the next two weeks. With first-quarter earnings reports winding down, the government's stress test results out of the way and few economic reports expected, investors may feel like they're in a bit of a data vacuum. And when there's little information to go on, a nervous market tends to fall.

Regional banks Fifth Third Bancorp and Huntington Bancshares Inc. showed some of the strongest gains. Fifth Third rose 50 cents, or 7.1 percent, to $7.52. Huntington rose 31 cents, or 7 percent, to $4.72.

CA, which makes software to run information technology systems, rose 95 cents, or 5.5 percent, to $18.27.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. fell 93 cents to $49.10 after its first-quarter results failed to excite the market. Kohl's Corp. fell 71 cents to $41.24 after its report. But retailer Urban Outfitters Inc. rose 21 cents to $19.51 after posting results that beat forecasts.

Michael Strauss, chief economist and market strategist at Commonfund, said some traders had been expecting an increase in weekly unemployment claims because of planned shutdowns among the nation's automakers.

Ford Motor Co. rose 20 cents, or 4 percent, to $5.16 after its chief executive, Alan Mulally, said at the company's annual meeting the automaker is slashing costs and boosting development of safe, fuel-efficient vehicles. Shareholders approved the company's request to issue stock to help pay some of its health care obligations to retired autoworkers.

In other trading, the Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 8.89, or 1.9 percent, to 480.71.

Bond prices were mixed after rising a day earlier. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note, a widely used benchmark for loans including home mortgages, fell to 3.09 percent from 3.12 percent late Wednesday.

The dollar was mixed against other major currencies, while gold prices fell.

Light, sweet crude rose 60 cents to settle at $58.62 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Overseas, Britain's FTSE 100 rose 0.7 percent, Germany's DAX index advanced 0.2 percent, and France's CAC-40 rose 0.1 percent. Japan's Nikkei stock average fell 2.6 percent.

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