Stocks in New York finished the day and the week in positive territory as investors took in more signs that the economic decline may be slowing, but also learned that they will have to wait a bit longer to hear about the testing that's been done on big U.S. banks.The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 44.29 points, or 0.5%, to 8212.41, and the S&P 500 climbed 4.71 points, or 0.5%, to 877.52. The Nasdaq gained 1.90 points, or 0.1% to 1719.20.
The major indices were positive for the seventh time in eight weeks after a downturn last week. The Dow rose 1.7%, the S&P added 1.3%, and the Nasdaq tacked on 1.5%.
Stocks closed mixed on Thursday, but had the best April in years, and that was partly thanks to earnings, says Anu Sharma, managing director of the market intelligence desk at Nasdaq OMX. As much as 59% of the companies on the S&P 500 that preannounced did so with better-than-expected earnings, and while expectations were low, it still added to investor confidence, he says.
After a brutal winter, stock markets have been on a roll this spring in response to some encouraging outlooks from corporations and rosier economic numbers. In April, the Dow Jones industrial average climbed more than 7 percent, and the S.& P. 500 soared 9.4 percent, its best performance since March 2000. After Wall Street skidded to its lowest levels in more than a decade, stocks have surged since the second week of March, propelled higher by hopes that the banks and the broader economy were beginning to pull out of a long slide. Investors are still worried about rising unemployment and the prospect that some banks will need to raise more money, but they are still buying into the rally, analysts said.
“There are buyers out there, whether individuals or institutions,” said Howard Silverblatt, senior index analyst at Standard and Poor’s. “Somebody’s obviously got guts or liquidity.” HAPPY TRADING FOLKS !!!
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