Chance of a Bottom Sends Stocks Up
|
TOOLBOX
   Resize
COMMENT
 Discussion Policy
 CLOSE
Comments that include profanity or personal attacks or other inappropriate comments or material will be removed from the site. Additionally, entries that are unsigned or contain "signatures" by someone other than the actual author will be removed. Finally, we will take steps to block users who violate any of our posting standards, terms of use or privacy policies or any other policies governing this site. Please review the full rules governing commentaries and discussions. You are fully responsible for the content that you post.
Who's Blogging  |
U.S. stocks climbed for a fourth week, the longest stretch since 2007, after the economy showed signs of improvement and world leaders agreed on measures to halt the recession.
Caterpillar, Walt Disney and Verizon led gains in the Dow Jones industrial average after better-than-estimated U.S. home sales spurred speculation that the economy is bottoming. The Standard & Poor's 500-stock index extended its rebound from a 12-year low to 25 percent as regulators relaxed an accounting rule governing bank profits.
"The market is really starting to rise now," said David James at James Investment Research in Xenia, Ohio. "This is probably going to be the strongest of the bear-market rallies."
The S&P 500 climbed 3.3 percent, to 842.50. The Dow average added 241.41 points, or 3.1 percent, to 8,017.59. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 5 percent, to 1,621.87.
Stocks fell to begin the week after President Obama said General Motors and Chrysler have one more chance to restructure. Gains in the final session were limited after the unemployment rate climbed to a 25-year high of 8.5 percent.
The S&P 500 added 2.9 percent on April 2 after Group of 20 leaders agreed on a plan to rein in financial excesses. They also pledged more than $1 trillion to cushion the economy. Banks gained after the Financial Accounting Standards Board relaxed fair-value rules that lenders said inflated bank losses.
First-quarter earnings start next week with Alcoa, the largest U.S. aluminum maker. For S&P 500 companies, profits may decline 37 percent, according to Bloomberg estimates.
The Treasury will auction $30 billion of three-month bills and $28 billion of six-month bills April 6. They yielded 0.18 percent and 0.40 percent in when-issued trading. One-month bills will be sold the next day.
-- Bloomberg News
