A rally on Wall Street will be put to the test next week, with the S&P 500 index at its highest closing level since before the collapse of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. in 2008 and the European Central Bank about to flood the financial markets with a new wave of cheap money.
The S&P 500 rose on Friday to close at its highest level since before the collapse of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. in September 2008, continuing a pattern of steady gains on apparent signs of U.S. economic recovery.
The S&P 500 rose on Friday to close at the highest level since before the collapse of Lehman Brothers in 2008, continuing a pattern of steady gains on signs of U.S. economic recovery.
No matter which direction investors faced Friday, whether it was the recent past or the immediate future, all the signals were positive. Investors responded by boosting prices for stocks, bonds and commodities.
Buoyed by another round of better-than-expected economic data, the Standard & Poor's 500 advanced above its highest close since June 2008. Optimism on the economy also lifted the Dow Jones Industrial Average back above 13,000.
The top after-market NASDAQ gainers Thursday were: Casual Male Retail Group, Internap Network Services, OmniVision Technologies, Iconix Brand Group, AXT Inc, Warner Chilcott, Intuit Inc, Dynamic Materials Corp, Sigma Designs and Clearwire Corp.
The top after-market NASDAQ loser Thursday were: Rubicon Technology, Crocs, Deckers Outdoor Corp, Celldex Therapeutics, Grand Canyon Education, MercadoLibre, PLX Technology, Infinity Pharmaceuticals, UTi Worldwide and Century Aluminum.
The top aftermarket NYSE gainers Thursday were: Kindred Healthcare, Greenhill, Exterran Holdings, Ventas, WPX Energy, Youku, EXCO Resources, CryoLife and Office Depot.
The top aftermarket NYSE gainers Thursday were: Salesforce.com, 3D Systems Corp, American International Group, Magna International, Pacific Drilling, American Equity Investment, Rackspace Hosting and Suntech Power Holdings.
Asian shares crept higher Friday as solid U.S. data improved sentiment, but gains may be limited by concerns that rising oil prices could deal a further blow to the fragile euro zone economy and moves to take profits after recent rallies.
Japan's Nikkei share average extended its rally and rose to a 6-1/2-month high on Friday above 9,600, heading for its best February performance in two decades.
Asian shares rose Friday as solid U.S. data improved sentiment, but the upside may be capped by concerns that rising oil prices could deal a further blow to the fragile euro zone economy and moves to take profits after recent gains.
The United States on Thursday moved to block seven international organized crime leaders from the country's financial markets, including a Japanese yakuza godfather and key members of a gang operating in four continents.
Three economic reports lit a fire Thursday under global markets, sending U.S. stocks and many commodities higher. The S&P 500 stock index briefly topped its April 2011 peak of 1,363.61.
The top after-market NASDAQ gainers Wednesday were: Vivus, Orexigen Therapeutics, Arena Pharmaceuticals, Hansen Medical, Questcor Pharmaceuticals and Zix Corp. The top after-market NASDAQ losers were: Horizon Pharma, Smith Micro Software, GRAVITY Co, United Online and Achillion Pharmaceuticals.
The top aftermarket NYSE losers Wednesday were: Polypore International, Genco Shipping & Trading, Titan International, Safeway, Limited Brands, Analog Devices, Thompson Creek Metals, Concho Resources, Ternium and SandRidge Mississippian.
The top aftermarket NYSE gainers Wednesday were: Spirit Aerosystems Holdings, Penn Virginia, Sturm, Ruger & Co, Macquarie Infrastructure, Qihoo 360 Technology Co, Aegean Marine Petroleum Network, Whiting Petroleum Corp, MGIC Investment Corp, Stone Energy and QEP Resources.
It didn't take long for the initial relief following Tuesday's long-awaited Greek bailout deal to die down. Global stocks ended Wednesday lower as investors took a cautious stance on the Eurozone economic outlook following disappointing business activity data and Fitch's announcement to cut Greece's credit rating further into junk status.
When looking for stocks to buy for 2012, it may help to consider what hedge fund managers piled into during the last quarter of 2011.
DoubleLine Capital's stock market prediction for 2012 is cautious despite the current jolly mood of investors.
The companies expected to see active trade Wednesday are: Analog Devices, Dollar Tree, Dell Inc, Hewlett Packard, Limited Brands, Williams Companies, TJX Companies, Quanta Services, Mannkind Corp and Express Scripts.
The top aftermarket NYSE losers Tuesday were: Yingli Green Energy Holding Co, Basic Energy Services, Northstar Realty Finance, SandRidge Mississippian Trust, Two Harbors Investments, Nabors Industries, Trina Solar, MEMC Electronic Materials and MEMC Electronic Materials.
The top after-market NASDAQ gainers Tuesday were: Sourcefire, Texas Roadhouse, Canadian Solar, Brocade Communications Systems, Encore Wire Corp and Intuit Inc. The top after-market NASDAQ losers Tuesday were: DealerTrack Holdings, Brightpoint, Rex Energy Corp, Dell Inc, Cheesecake Factory and Netease.com.
The top aftermarket NYSE gainers Tuesday were: Office Depot, Herbalife, Mosaic, Qihoo 360 Technology, Cabot Oil & Gas Corp, Kraton Performance Polymers, La-Z-Boy, Beazer Homes USA, Beazer Homes USA, Ship Finance International and ICICI Bank Ltd.
Gary Cohn is currently the COO and President of Goldman Sachs. For a long time, he has been widely perceived as the likely successor of Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein.
The financial world welcomed Tuesday's approval of Greece's plans for what amounts to an orderly default with gains in global stocks and commodities.
Stocks dipped on Tuesday as shares pulled back after the Dow breached 13,000 for the first time since May 2008, the latest big move in stocks' recent rally.
George Soros does not have a favorable view of how Germany is handling the Eurozone debt crisis.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average briefly climbed back above the psychologically important 13,000 level shortly before noon Tuesday for the first time since 2008.
The companies expected to see active trade Tuesday are: Wal-Mart Stores, Dell, Chesapeake Energy, Kraft Foods, Home Depot, Macy's, Nabors Industries, Boyd Gaming, Genuine Parts and Intuit Inc.
