DJIA Soars 106 Points as Bulls Maintain the Reins
The bulls on Wall Street continued their hot start to December by piling another 100 points onto the Dow on Thursday in response to the resurgent euro, an unexpected jump in pending home sales and impressive sales in November from retailers.
The bulls continued their stampede from the opening bell, completely shrugging off an unexpected rise in weekly jobless claims ahead of tomorrow's key nonfarm payrolls report. Instead, the market cheered a generally solid round of November sales reports from the retail sector, as well as a record-setting surge in pending home sales for October. Traders also took comfort in the latest news out of the debt-saddled euro zone, with Jean-Claude Trichet announcing that the European Central Bank will continue to provide liquidity to banks as needed through the first quarter of 2011. Against this upbeat backdrop, the major market indexes collected their second straight day of robust gains.
It might have seemed modest in comparison with Wednesday's 249-point spike, but the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA – 11,362.41) ended on a still-very-respectable advance of 106.6 points, or roughly 1%, as all but three of its 30 components closed higher. The Home Depot (HD) racked up the day's biggest gain, soaring 5.5%, while Kraft Foods (KFT) paced the laggards by giving up 0.5%. The Dow has rallied an impressive 2.4% this week, and notched its first daily close above 11,300 since Nov. 10.
The S&P 500 Index (SPX – 1,221.53) added 15.5 points, or 1.3%, extending its surge above former resistance at 1,200. Finally, the Nasdaq Composite (COMP – 2,579.35) jumped 29.9 points, or 1.2%, marking its first daily finish above previous support at 2,560 since Nov. 10.
The bulls on Wall Street continued their hot start to December by piling another 100 points onto the Dow on Thursday in response to the resurgent euro, an unexpected jump in pending home sales and impressive sales in November from retailers.The bulls continued their stampede from the opening bell, completely shrugging off an unexpected rise in weekly jobless claims ahead of tomorrow's key nonfarm payrolls report. Instead, the market cheered a generally solid round of November sales reports from the retail sector, as well as a record-setting surge in pending home sales for October. Traders also took comfort in the latest news out of the debt-saddled euro zone, with Jean-Claude Trichet announcing that the European Central Bank will continue to provide liquidity to banks as needed through the first quarter of 2011. Against this upbeat backdrop, the major market indexes collected their second straight day of robust gains.
It might have seemed modest in comparison with Wednesday's 249-point spike, but the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA – 11,362.41) ended on a still-very-respectable advance of 106.6 points, or roughly 1%, as all but three of its 30 components closed higher. The Home Depot (HD) racked up the day's biggest gain, soaring 5.5%, while Kraft Foods (KFT) paced the laggards by giving up 0.5%. The Dow has rallied an impressive 2.4% this week, and notched its first daily close above 11,300 since Nov. 10.The S&P 500 Index (SPX – 1,221.53) added 15.5 points, or 1.3%, extending its surge above former resistance at 1,200. Finally, the Nasdaq Composite (COMP – 2,579.35) jumped 29.9 points, or 1.2%, marking its first daily finish above previous support at 2,560 since Nov. 10.
CRUDE OIL FUTURESCrude futures sailed to a fresh two-year peak today, rising in step with stocks as traders cheered a round of solid economic data. Black gold also caught a lift from softness in the U.S. dollar, which relinquished some ground to the euro following Trichet's comments. Crude oil for January delivery ended on a gain of $1.25, or 1.4%at $88 per barrel -- its best price since October 2008.
HAPPY TRADING
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