Dow Sheds 59 on Ugly Reports

Stocks rebound after dismal Inauguration Day

(NEWSER) - A rebound in the financial sector today and qualified confidence in President Obama’s stimulus plan drove stocks to recover some of yesterday’s large losses, MarketWatch reports. The Dow gained 279.01 to close at 8,228.10. The Nasdaq added 66.21, closing at 1,507.07, and the S&P 500 rose 35.03 to 840.24. More»

Downbeat session kicks off August

(NEWSER) - Stocks fell today as investors absorbed a slate of poor earnings reports and glum but not awful economic reports. Crude rose $1.02 a barrel, and shares in every sector other than energy fell, MarketWatch reports. The Dow dropped 51.70 to 11,326.32, the Nasdaq shed 14.59 to close at 2,310.96, and the S&P 500 fell 7.07 to 1,260.31. More»

A rough housing report doesn’t help

(NEWSER) - The market was mostly down today, after investors corrected for yesterday’s record-breaking spike, and a new drop in a home-sales index stirred mortgage anxieties. The Dow dipped 40.24 points to 14,047.31, with one strategist telling MarketWatch, “The fundamental news didn’t warrant the rally.” Still, the reaction was muted, given news of a 6.5% slide last month in the pending home sales index, which hit its lowest mark since it was first tallied in 2001. 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»