Stocks Rise on Healthy Data

Investors keep an eye on upcoming jobs, stress test reports

(NEWSER) - Yesterday’s rally failed to carry stocks today, with traders nervously anticipating weekly and monthly employment reports as well as the bank stress-test results later this week, the Wall Street Journal reports. Bank of America rose 5.4%, while Wells Fargo dropped 3.3%. The Dow fell 16.09 to close at 8,410.65. The Nasdaq lost 9.44, settling at 1,754.12, and the S&P 500 dropped 3.44 to close at 903.80. More»

Investors mull 'stress test' criteria

(NEWSER) - Stocks gained today on some positive earnings reports, but anxiety over the ramifications of government "stress tests" kept the lid on, the Wall Street Journal reports. The disclosure of the “stress test” methodology seemed to boost the biggest banks, like Bank of America, Wells Fargo, and US Bancorp, but investors worried about the trickle-down effects to lesser-known midsize banks. The Dow closed up 119.23 at 8,076.29, the Nasdaq rose 42.08 to 1,694.29, and the S&P 500 rose 14.31, closing at 866.23. More»

Dow sees triple-digit rise

(NEWSER) - Is the panic over on Wall Street? The Dow shot up around 131 points, and the S&P and Nasdaq were up 13.5 and 26.2 as of 9:39am EST. Part of the gain came from Google’s blockbuster acquisition of Motorola , which sent the latter’s stock up 60%, according to the Wall Street Journal . Traders were also watching two other major deals—Time Warner is reportedly close to an agreement to buy Insight Communications, and Bank of America sold its credit card portfolio to Toronto-Dominion Bank. More»

Energy sector leads stocks lower; financials up on BofA settlement

(NEWSER) - Energy issues pushed stocks lower today after indexes hung around opening levels and briefly wandered into positive territory. Bank of America's settlement with the SEC over its acquisition of Merrill Lynch last year boosted financials, the Wall Street Journal reports.

• The Dow fell 18.97 points to close at 10,383.38.
• The Nasdaq lost 1.84, settling at 2,242.03.
• The S&P 500 dropped 1.16 to close at 1,108.01.

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.