Markets edged up Friday, extending gains seen throughout most of the week, as optimistic data on durable goods and new homes sales offset lackluster consumer spending and signaled U.S. strength against the Eurozone crisis.
The S&P 500 turned positive for the year on Friday as equities rallied again on a run of better-than-expected economic data, though volume continued to be seasonally weak.
Wall Street stocks rose on Friday as the S&P 500 rallied for a fourth straight day and turned positive for the year after a run of better-than-expected economic data.
U.S. stock index futures point to Wall Street edging higher Friday, extending a rally into a fourth session, as labor market and other data in the United States pointed to a strong economic recovery.
Stocks rose on Thursday, putting the S&P 500 on the cusp of finishing out the year higher as another decline in jobless claims pointed to further improvement in the labor market.
Gold struggled Friday as fund managers booked profits on the yellow metal's gains this year, offsetting the lift it normally would have gotten from rising crude oil prices and stocks.
Stocks edged higher on Thursday, putting the benchmark S&P 500 index on track for its third straight advance after data pointed to ongoing labor market improvement, albeit at a slow pace.
Technology shares slumped on Wednesday and pushed the Nasdaq down 1 percent after Oracle reported results that cast doubts on the sector's health, even as broader markets closed mostly flat in a thinly traded day.
Gold lost early gains Friday, along with stocks and the euro, as an unexpectedly high number of Eurozone banks queued up for low-interest loans reminded investors of just how widespread Europe's sovereign debt crisis has become.
By mid-day the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) was down 80 points, to 12,023.28, while the NASDAQ was down 2 percent, to 2,550, and the S&P 500 was off three-quarters of a percent fo 1,232.
Global stocks and commodities fell Wednesday as investors shrugged off heavy European Central Bank lending and eyed a troublesome U.S. earnings report.
U.S. stock index futures pointed to a higher open on Wall Street Wednesday, with futures for the S&P 500 up 0.38 percent, Dow Jones futures up 0.62 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures up 0.61 percent at 0910 GMT.
U.S. stocks soared on Tuesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) ended up 337 points, or 2.9 percent, to close at 12,103. The S&P 500 Index rose 36 points, or 3 percent, to 1,241, while the NASDAQ rose 80 points, or 3.2 percent, to 2,604.
Last week Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke told federal lawmakers that no bailout of Europe was forthcoming and ended a monthly meeting of the central bank’s top decision-making body by pointedly rejecting a new round of quantitative easing. Data released by the Fed reveals that, at least partially, the organization spent the week engaging in exactly those actions.
Gold prices rose Tuesday with other commodities and global equities on unexpected signs the U.S. housing market is turning around and continued improvement in the Eurozone.
Stocks extended gains on Tuesday, with the Nasdaq rising 3 percent as investors latched onto signs of easing stress in Europe's bond markets as well as positive economic data at home and abroad.
At a time of daily stock-market seizures, weekly bank and sovereign debt downgrades and monthly central bank interventions, most people are seeing the glass half empty, and have forecasted bearish -- if not downright abysmal -- market conditions for next year. A look at some of the more salient predictions.
Stocks were poised to rebound at the open Tuesday after declines in the prior session as a drop in Spain's borrowing costs and unexpectedly positive data from Germany eased euro zone debt worries.
Gold prices rose more than 1 percent and silver popped nearly 2 percent Tuesday on fresh evidence the struggling U.S. housing industry is recovering plus rising German business sentiment that boosted investors' risk appetite.
U.S. stock index futures pointed to a higher open on Wall Street on Tuesday, with futures for the S&P 500 up 0.5 percent, Dow Jones futures up 0.3 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures up 0.4 percent at 0819 GMT.
In a bombshell research note that is making the rounds of Wall Street this morning, Glenn Schorr, the financial services sector analyst for Nomura, cut his estimate for Goldman's fourth-quarter earnings to $1 per share, half of his previous $2 prediction. That's less than half of what the consensus expectations are. Other bank estimates were also taken down.
Stock index futures rose on Monday after Wall Street's steep decline last week, but the death of North Korea's leader over the weekend and a warning from Fitch about possible credit downgrades kept investors jittery.
