May Starts Slowly; Dow Up 41

Improved manufacturing report lifts indices

(NEWSER) - Stocks kicked the second quarter off strong today as good manufacturing news lifted confidence, the Wall Street Journal reports. Stocks initially fell after a worse-than-expected jobs report, but rose after an index had March manufacturing as better than February’s, though still signaling contraction. The Dow rose 152.68 to close at 7,761.60. The Nasdaq gained 23.01, settling at 1,551.60, and the S&P 500 added 13.21 to close at 811.08. More»

Manufacturing employment rises

(NEWSER) - News of Prudential's agreement to buy AIG's Asia division sowed confidence on Wall Street today. Stocks rose, boosted as well by a jump in manufacturing employment, the Wall Street Journal reports.

• The Dow rose 78.53 points to close at 10,403.79.
• The Nasdaq added 35.31, closing at 2,273.57.
• The S&P 500 gained 11.22 to settle at 1,115.71.

Dow off 170 midday on European credit woes

(NEWSER) - Stocks regained their opening levels after severe losses that saw the Dow off 170 points at midday today. Despite better-than-expected US employment figures, worries about the creditworthiness of some troubled European nations exerted downward pressure on stocks, the Wall Street Journal reports.

• The Dow Jones closed up 10.05 points at 10,012.23.
• The Nasdaq gained 15.69 to close at 2,141.12.
• The S&P 500 added 3.07 to settle at 1,066.18.

Oil hits $70.47, a 2-month low

(NEWSER) - Stocks posted solid gains today following a weekly jobs report that showed a boost in initial unemployment filings but a fall in the number of claims lasting longer than 1 week, the Wall Street Journal reports.

• The Dow rose 68.78 points to close at 10,405.83.
• The Nasdaq added 7.13, settling at 2,199.86.
• The S&P 500 gained 6.40, closing at 1,102.35.

Seesaw session ends with losses

(NEWSER) - Stocks swung to losses after flirting briefly with gains late in today's session to close the worst week since mid-June. The news that unemployment grew to 9.8% in September depressed the markets, but analysts said so much disappointing data emerged this week that most traders had already unloaded shares. Also driving the late swing was bargain-hunting after the week's severe losses. The Dow fell 21.61 points to close at 9,487.67. The Nasdaq lost 9.37, closing at 2,048.11, and the S&P 500 fell 4.64 to settle at 1,025.21. More»