WALL STREET : DJIA Reclaims 12,000 on Hope for Greece

Dow Rebounds; Halt 6-week losing streak

 Stocks bolted into the black at the opening bell today, after encouraging signs from across the pond eased concerns about the fate of debt-strapped Greece. Most notably, the Street cheered the country's appointment of a new finance minister, as well as Germany and France's united front to help resolve their neighbor's debt crisis. The news sparked optimism ahead of a weekend summit of euro zone finance ministers, and helped keep a downwardly revised growth forecast from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on the proverbial backburner. In the same vein, a ho-hum report on consumer sentiment took some wind out of the bulls' sails, though a stronger-than-anticipated improvement in the Conference Board's index of leading indicators helped to keep the bears at bay. 


Against this backdrop, both the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) and the S&P 500 Index (SPX) snapped their six-week losing streak, though an abysmal outlook from Research In Motion Limited (RIMM) kept the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite (COMP) wallowing in the red.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA – 12,004.36) pared its triple-digit lead in afternoon trading, but still ended with a gain of 42.8 points, or 0.4% -- marking its second finish north of 12,000 this week. Only seven of the Dow's 30 blue chips bucked the trend, with tech titan Intel Corp. (INTC) leading the black sheep with a loss of 1.1%. On the flip side, AT&T (T), Microsoft (MSFT), JPMorgan Chase (JPM), and IBM (IBM) ended in a four-way tie for first, with each stock adding 1.1% by the close. For the week, the Dow advanced 0.4%, halting its six-week losing streak.

The S&P 500 Index (SPX – 1,271.50) also ended off its session highs, but tacked on 3.9 points, or 0.3%, when all was said and done. Like the Dow, the SPX snapped its six-week journey lower, eking out a week-over-week surplus of less than 0.1%. Finally, the Nasdaq Composite (COMP – 2,616.48) left the party early to end near a session low, giving up 7.2 points, or 0.3%, by the close. For the week, the COMP lost 1%, marking its fifth straight week in the red.

Crude oil tanked to 4 month low
Crude futures backpedaled to a four-month nadir today, after a downwardly revised global growth forecast from the IMF exacerbated concerns about waning demand. By the close, July-dated crude oil futures swallowed a loss of $1.94, or 2%, to settle at $93.01 per barrel -- black gold's lowest settlement price since mid-February, before political turmoil in the Middle East propelled the commodity higher. For the week, the front-month contract shed 6.3%, marking its heftiest week-over-week percentage loss since the week ended May 6.

HAPPY WEEKEND