Dow Jumps 359 on Rate Cut

Investors thank Bush, Bernanke for gains

(NEWSER) - On the eve of the holiday weekend, the major markets jumped today, riding encouraging comments by President Bush and Ben Bernanke to broad advances that pushed their monthly gains above 1%. The Dow, which saw 28 of 30 stocks rise, finished up 119.01 points, closing at 13,357.74. Citigroup and JP Morgan led a financial-sector rally. More»

Big gains for major banks ahead of earnings reports

(NEWSER) - Stocks staged a broad rally today as financials soared ahead of earnings reports, the Wall Street Journal reports. Bank of America surged 9%, while Citigroup and JP Morgan Chase rose 6.9%. General Electric, which will also report its second-quarter earnings this week, rose 6.1%. The Dow closed up 185.16 at 8,331.68. The Nasdaq added 37.18 to 1,793.21, and the S&P 500 rose 21.92, settling at 901.05. More»

Dow falls 289 on financial uncertainty

(NEWSER) - Stocks saw deep declines today as uneasiness over banking spilled into the broader market, the Wall Street Journal reports. Bank of America slid 22% on word of growing losses in its credit-card unit. Goldman Sachs, Citigroup and JPMorgan Chase also fell on reports of a Treasury move that may dilute shareholder value. The Dow lost 289.60 to close at 7,841.73. The Nasdaq shed 64.86, to 1,608.21, and the S&P 500 lost 37.21 to 832.39. More»

(NEWSER) - Stocks turned south this morning, as a series of downgrades and bad news for the Sun/IBM deal spooked investors ahead of earnings season, the Wall Street Journal reports. The Dow dropped 92, the S&P 12. Financials sank after a veteran analyst downgraded 11 major US banks. The Nasdaq fell 33, after a downgrade from Cisco and a report that the Sun takeover deal was in jeopardy. More»

Indices manage to hold on to weekly gains despite Friday dip

(NEWSER) - Stocks fell today, though not enough to offset broad-based weekly gains, the Wall Street Journal reports. Financials dropped, in part due to comments by JP Morgan Chase CEO James Dimon, who said the bank had more trouble in March than in the first 2 months of the year. JP Morgan and Citigroup both dropped 5%. The Dow lost 148.70 points to close at 7,776.18. The Nasdaq fell 41.80 points, settling at 1,545.20, and the S&P 500 dropped 16.92 points, closing at 815.94. More»