Earlier in the day, disappointing retail, foreclosure, and jobless claims data took away some of the excitement that followed an unexpected increase in GDP in France and Germany and the Fed's most recent release. But observers were again impressed by the market's staying power."No matter what's thrown at this market, it continues to stay strong: You have negative news, you go sideways, you have positive news, the market goes up," says a senior technical strategist at Schaeffer's Investment Research.
Today’s MarketsThe Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 36.58 points, or 0.39%, to 9398.19, the Standard & Poor's 500 added 6.92 points, or 0.69%, to 1012.73 and the Nasdaq Composite picked up 10.63 points, or 0.53%, to 2009.35.
Earlier this week, stocks had stalled out as the major gauges struggled to remain above key psychological levels -- 2,000 for the Nasdaq and 1,000 for the S&P 500. But shares managed to close decidedly above those levels Thursday.
The slight gains allow the bulls to tack onto Wednesday's 120-point rally, which came after the Federal Reserve decided to leave interest rates unchanged and said economic activity is "leveling out." The markets are now on track to end in the green for the fifth straight week amid optimism about the U.S. economy.
The Dow was led higher Thursday by gains of about 6% each from Bank of America and Alcoa. Nearly half of the index's 30 components lost ground, including United Technologies and Caterpillar. Thursday's rally was limited by a pair of downbeat reports on the U.S. economy, casting some doubt on Wall Street’s second-half recovery hopes.
Global Markets
European markets closed higher for the second straight day. London's FTSE 100 gained 0.82% to 4755.46, France's CAC 40 rose 0.49% to 3524.39 and Germany's DAX climbed 0.95% to 5401.11.
In Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 closed up 0.79% to 10517.19, Hong Kong's Hang Seng rallied 2.08% to 20861.30 and China's Shanghai Composite jumped 0.89% to 3140.56.
On the commodities front, crude oil gained ground for the second day in a row but closed well off its highs. Crude settled at $70.52 a barrel, up 36 cents, or 0.51%.
The Dow was led higher Thursday by gains of about 6% each from Bank of America and Alcoa. Nearly half of the index's 30 components lost ground, including United Technologies and Caterpillar. Thursday's rally was limited by a pair of downbeat reports on the U.S. economy, casting some doubt on Wall Street’s second-half recovery hopes.
Global MarketsEuropean markets closed higher for the second straight day. London's FTSE 100 gained 0.82% to 4755.46, France's CAC 40 rose 0.49% to 3524.39 and Germany's DAX climbed 0.95% to 5401.11.
In Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 closed up 0.79% to 10517.19, Hong Kong's Hang Seng rallied 2.08% to 20861.30 and China's Shanghai Composite jumped 0.89% to 3140.56.
On the commodities front, crude oil gained ground for the second day in a row but closed well off its highs. Crude settled at $70.52 a barrel, up 36 cents, or 0.51%.
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