Stocks Seesaw, Close Down

Dow drops 256 points after surprisingly weak earnings report

(NEWSER) - The markets went into a tailspin today after GE shares declined 13%—the company's worst performance since the 1987 crash, the Wall Street Journal reports. The Dow fell 256.56 points to close at 12,325.42, the Nasdaq dropped 61.46 points to 2,290.24, and the S&P 500 shed 27.72 to settle at 1,332.83. More»

After days of dismal news, mixed reports enough to rouse investors

(NEWSER) - Stocks rallied despite a generally unfavorable climate today on positive news from Intel and Wal-Mart, though, with the exception of the Nasdaq, failed to hold on to session highs. The Nasdaq rose 29.58 to close at 2,351.70. The Dow, up triple-digits during the session, ended 54.72 higher at 12,581.98; the S&P 500 gained 6.06 to close at 1,360.55. More»

S&P 500, Nasdaq also rise

(NEWSER) - Markets are up, at least for now: The Dow was up more than 100 points at open, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq following suit, up about 11 and 13 points, respectively, MarketWatch reports. An upbeat report on retail sales no doubt prodded stocks upward: July sales rose a seasonally adjusted 0.5%, their biggest gain in four months. Currently the Dow is hovering in the 11,200 range. More»

Mastercard reports better-than-expected holiday sales

(NEWSER) - Stocks faltered but managed to reclaim most of the day's gains in the final hour of today's session. The day saw light trading volume and news of a bump in retail sales from MasterCard's SpendingPulse unit, the Wall Street Journal reports.

• The Dow gained 26.98 points to close at 10,547.08.
• The Nasdaq added 5.39, closing at 2,291.08.
• The S&P 500 rose 1.30 to settle at 1,127.78.

Retail sales beat expectations in November

(NEWSER) - Stocks ended today's session mixed, with the Dow posting solid gains. Alcoa saw a. 8% jump on an optimistic profit estimate by JPMorgan, and the University of Michigan/Reuters December consumer sentiment index beat expectations, the Wall Street Journal reports.

• The Dow rose 65.67 points to close at 10,471.50.
• The Nasdaq fell 0.55, settling at 2,190.51.
• The S&P 500 gained 4.06, closing at 1,106.41.