Dow Surges Despite GDP Dip

2009 the best year for the market since 2003

(NEWSER) - Stocks are expected to rise this week, capping off Wall Street’s best year in recent memory. It’s the first time in two years that stocks have posted annual growth, and for the S&P 500, it could be the best year since 2003. Though the economy is far from healthy, investors think economic indicators will keep improving, Reuters reports. “There’s an upward bias,” says the head of one investment firm. More»

To be fair, they've already had the worst two-day stretch since 1987

(NEWSER) - The economy lost 240,000 jobs in October, bringing unemployment to 6.5%, its highest rate since 1994. It was the 10th-straight negative month, bringing the year’s losses to 1.2 million. But the staggering report did little to move the needle on Wall Street, as the Dow actually rose 136 points before settling back. The S&P and Nasdaq saw similar modest gains of 1.3% and 1.4% respectively. More»

Two bleak reports raise fears about recovery

(AP) - Fears that the US economy is stalling sent the Dow Jones industrial average down 280 points, erasing more than a quarter of the stock market's gains for the year. A pair of reports raised new doubts about the economy's strength: A key manufacturing index fell from its April level, and private employers added just 38,000 jobs in May, according to payroll processor ADP. Analysts had expected a growth of 180,000. More»

Growth fits economists' predictions

(AP) - The economy grew slightly faster over the summer as Americans spent a little more freely: The GDP grew at a 2% rate during the third quarter, in line with what economists had forecast. It marks a slight improvement over last quarter, when the GDP grew at a 1.7% rate. Consumers helped boost last quarter's economic growth with 2.6% growth in spending, the biggest quarterly increase since the end of 2006, before the recession hit. More»

Microsoft falls 4.5% despite strong profits

(NEWSER) - Stocks saw losses today as investors proved unmoved by the striking 5.7% jump in GDP for the second quarter. Microsoft led a broad decline in tech stocks despite reporting strong growth in quarterly profits, the Wall Street Journal reports.

• The Dow fell 53.13 points to close at 10,067.33.
• The Nasdaq lost 31.65, closing at 2,147.35.
• The S&P 500 dropped 10.66 to settle at 1,073.87.