Stocks Mixed, Dow Down 6.7

Greenspan comments on nationalization keep financials down

(NEWSER) - Stocks vacillated between minor gains and losses today, perking up slightly after President Obama announced his housing plan, MarketWatch reports. Financials continued to slide after Alan Greenspan suggested in a Financial Times interview that bank nationalization would be the “least bad” way to solve the crisis. The Dow gained 3.03 points to close at 7,555.63. The Nasdaq lost 2.69 points, closing at 1,467.97, and the S&P 500 lost .75 points to close at 788.42. More»

Conflicting news on financials hinders the market

(NEWSER) - The markets finished mixed today as fears over the financial sector clashed with positive economic reports. Moody’s said it may downgrade ratings for Ambac Financial and MBIA because of continued mortgage-related losses, MarketWatch reports, helping the Dow down 12.37 to 12,390.48. The Nasdaq gained 22.66, closing at 2,503.14, while the S&P 500 lost 0.45 to settle at 1,377.20. More»

Markets seesaw, close down

(NEWSER) - The Dow closed below 13,000 today after seesawing on bad news from the financial sector and falling oil prices. The Dow finished at 12,987.55, down 55.19, after E*Trade said further mortgage-related write-downs might come—and its shares dropped 56%. The Nasdaq slid 43.81 to close at 2,584.13, and the S&P 500 dropped 14.52 to 1,439.18. More»

It's Dow's best finish since 2008

(NEWSER) - Today's rosy jobs report did wonders for the markets. The tech-heavy Nasdaq, in fact, closed at an 11-year high, reports MarketWatch , while the Dow finished at its highest level since May 2008, notes the Wall Street Journal . The numbers:

• Dow: Up 157, 1.2%, to 12,862
• Nasdaq: Up 46, 1.6%, to 2,906
• S&P 500: Up 19, 1.5%, to 1,345

Market has its best day this month

(AP) - Encouraging signs out of Europe and a surprisingly strong report on the US housing market drove the Dow Jones industrial average up more than 330 points today. It was the best day for stocks this month. The Spanish government pulled off a successful debt auction, and gauges of business and consumer confidence in Germany rose unexpectedly. The Commerce Department, meanwhile, said builders broke ground on 685,000 new homes last month, a 9.3% jump from October. That's the highest level since April 2010. More»