Rallies aren't what they used to be. As investors grow weary and
skeptical of big momentum movements in stock and market pricing,
rallies are getting shorter and shorter. Like yesterday's - that
lasted for roughly one hour. But that is not to say that general
enthusiasm isn't returning to the markets. Whether it stems from a
belief that the economy is on the mend or from hope that things
will get bad enough to necessitate quantitative easing and other
measures, the markets in the US and Europe are on the rise
today.
This enthusiasm was firmed by speculation that the Federal Open
Market Committee may be considering further U.S. economic stimulus.
Housing data and store sales helped fuel some optimism. Housing
starts were down, coming in at 0.708M on consensus estimates of
0.720M and prior levels of 0.717M, but permits topped estimates,
coming in at 0.780M over predictions of 0.736M and prior levels of
0.715M. Meanwhile, store sales at chain stores improved, increasing
2.4% from the same week last year.
Increases were felt across the board. MarketWatch reports that
for every stock that decreased this morning, more than four
experienced gains of some level.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 109.78 (+0.86%) at
12,851.45.
The S&P 500 is up 12.54 (+0.93%) at 1,357.31.
The NASDAQ Composite is up 31.18 (+1.08%) at 2,926.60.
In Europe, the markets were somewhat depressed. The FTSE 100
index is up 100.30 (+1.83%) to 5,591.47. The DAX is up 1.82%
(+112.85) to 6,361.25 and the CAC 40 is at 3,113.97, up 1.54%
(+47.78).
Crude oil prices are at $83.98 a barrel, up 0.71. Natural gas is
down 3.9 cents to $2.660 per 1 million BTU. Gold is down 0.3 to
$1,626.70 an ounce, while silver is down -0.216 to $28.455 an
ounce. Copper is up 0.04 to $3.44 a pound.
Among energy ETFs, the United States Oil Fund (
USO
) is up 1% to around $31.60 with the United States Natural Gas (
UNG
) fund is down -2.2% to around $17.90. Among precious-metal funds,
the Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (GMI) has hit year lows while
SPDR Gold Shares (
GLD
) are down 0.5% to around $157.20. The iShares Silver Trust (
SLV
) is down 1% to around $27.56.
Here's where the markets stand at mid-day:
NYSE Composite Index up 1.30% (+99.51) to 7,761.80
Dow Jones Industrial Index up 0.94% (+119.58) to 12,861.40
S&P 500 up 1.02% (+13.90) to 1,358.69
Nasdaq Composite Index up 1.19% (+34.29) to 2,929.66
GLOBAL SENTIMENT
Hang Seng Index down 0.06% (-11.14) to 19,416.67
Nikkei 225 down 0.75% (-65.15) to 8,655.87
Shanghai China Composite Index down 0.66% (-15.26) to
2,300.80
FTSE 100 is up 1.77% (-97.29) to 5,588.38
NYSE SECTOR INDICES
NYSE Energy Sector Index up 0.29% (+39.01) to 13,623.20
NYSE Financial Sector Index up 0.09% (+4.25) to 4,619.85
NYSE Healthcare Sector Index up 0.35% (+25.09) to 7,256.75
UPSIDE MOVERS
ZLCS (+10.3%) Successfully completed a Phase 1 single ascending
dose (SAD) clinical study with Z944, its novel, oral, T-type
calcium channel blocker.
TI (+8.2%) Speculation it will hold talks with state-backed
financing body CDP about spinning off its fixed-line network, as
the country moves to improve its broadband access, according to
Reuters.
DOWNSIDE MOVERS
JCP (-10%, has hit new year lows) Company announced its
president, Michael Francis, resigned.
MDGN (-5.8%) Raised gross proceeds of approximately $9.5 million
through the sale of 1,944,734 units, each sold at $4.90 to
institutional and other accredited investors in a private placement
transaction.