por admin » Mar Feb 28, 2012 12:59 pm
No lo hacia desde Mayo del 2008
ET.Dow Ends at 13000 for First Time Since May 2008
By CHRISTIAN BERTHELSEN
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed above the 13000 mark for the first time since May 19, 2008, before the financial crisis and recession sent markets reeling.
After just failing to close at the milestone during the five previous trading sessions, the Dow gained 24 points, or 0.2%, to close at 13005.
The Standard & Poor's 500-stock index was up 5 points, or 0.3%, at 1372, and the Nasdaq Composite was up 21 points, or 0.7%, to 2987.
Seven of the S&P's 10 sectors were higher, led by technology and health-care shares. Blue chips were mostly higher, led by Microsoft, which was up 1.3%, but weighed down by American Express, off 0.8%.
Mixed economic data provided conflicting direction earlier in the session.
The Commerce Department's latest report on durable goods showed orders in January fell at the fastest pace in three years, decreasing 4% compared with the 1.1% drop expected by economists. And U.S. home prices fell 3.8% in December from a month earlier, ending 2011 at the lowest level since mid-2006, according to the Standard & Poor's Case-Shiller home-price index.
But the Conference Board said U.S. consumer confidence rose to its highest reading in a year, lifted by a better outlook on the job market. And a regional Fed measure of economic activity in the mid-Atlantic area expanded for the third month in a row, albeit at a slower rate.
The market shook off the confusion and turned higher.
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."There's a conviction among investors that, one, 'If I sell stocks, what do I do with the money?' There's a total lack of selling as a result of that. And, two, [there is] a strong attitude out there that, if the economy does turn down again, the Federal Reserve will be quick to initiate QE3," said Bruce Bittles, chief investment strategist of Robert W. Baird, referring to another round of so-called quantitative easing, or bond buying. "Right now, you've got the best of both worlds: If the economy turns down, it's good, but if it turns up, it's good."
The Stoxx Europe 600 closed up 0.2%. Optimism ahead of the European Central Bank's second long-term refinancing operation and Germany's approval of Greece's bailout package provided support, countering Standard & Poor's downgrade of Greek sovereign credit to "selective default," a move that was widely expected.
Asian exchanges were mostly higher, with Japan's Nikkei Stock Average rising 0.9% to close at a six-month high and China's Shanghai Composite adding 0.2% to post its eighth straight gain.
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WSJ's Steven Russolillo has the morning's markets report, including a look at oil prices. AP Photo/Rick Bowmer
..Crude-oil futures fell 1.9% to $106.55 a barrel. Front-month gold futures gained 0.8% to settle at $1,787 an ounce. The dollar fell against the euro and gained against the yen. The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury rose to 1.927%.
In corporate news, shares of Apollo Group plunged 13% after the for-profit education company said it expects a measure of second-quarter growth in enrollment to be flat or in the low single digits, down from last year's 13% increase, and guided expectations lower for 2012 operating profitability. The company cited improving labor markets, competition and changes in marketing strategy.
Priceline.com surged 7% after the online travel agent reported fourth-quarter earnings and revenue that exceeded expectations and provided a first-quarter earnings outlook above current projections.
Morgan Stanley said it may need to post an additional $4.7 billion in collateral to counterparties and an extra $1.8 billion in collateral at certain exchanges if Moody's Investors Service cuts its credit rating by three notches, as it warned earlier this month was possible. The stock shook off earlier losses to rise 0.2%.
AutoZone tacked on 2.3% after the auto-parts retailer reported fiscal second-quarter results that topped recent analyst expectations, boosted by improvement in domestic commercial sales and gross margins.
Shares of Callaway Golf were up 2.6% after it hired Adams Golf Chief Executive Oliver "Chip" Brewer as its new president and CEO, ending a nearly eight-month search for the company's next leader. Adams shares were off 2.3%.
Office Depot reported a fourth-quarter profit, compared with expectations of a break-even quarter, as its gross profit margin increased by about 1.7 percentage points. Shares leapt 15%.
Domino's Pizza's fourth-quarter earnings rose a better-than-expected 28% as the pizza chain logged stronger sales in both its U.S. and international shops. Shares were up 14% as earnings topped Wall Street forecasts.