Stocks Rise on Job, Price Data

(NEWSER) - Stocks slid at the open today, following yet more negative numbers from retailers and the Labor Department, the Wall Street Journal reports. The Dow dropped 52 points, while the S&P fell 1%. The Nasdaq dropped 1.2%, weighed down by sub-par earnings from Cisco. New jobless claims ripped past the 600,000 mark last week, marking their highest level since 1982, while every retailer save Wal-Mart reported weak same-store sales. More»

(NEWSER) - Stocks headed south this morning, following worse-than-expected housing and job data. Jobless claims rose by 62,000 last week, and housing starts slid 15.5%, to their slowest pace on record. The Dow sunk 144 points, accompanied by an 18-point decline in the S&P. A strong quarter from Apple initially lifted Nasdaq futures, but news that Microsoft is slashing 5,000 jobs sent the tech-heavy index down 45 points. More»

Dow makes miniscule move

(NEWSER) - Stocks barely moved at the open in the wake of a gruesome but unsurprising jobs report. The Dow fluctuated between gains and losses, recently trading down 27 points, with the Nasdaq and S&P registering 0.6% and 0.5% declines. The country lost 2.6 million jobs in 2008, the Labor Department announced, with nearly 2 million of those coming in the last four months alone. The jobless rate is now 7.2%. More»

Nowhere to go but up?

(NEWSER) - Stocks started their final 2008 session with tepid optimism, sending the Dow up 28 points, and the Nasdaq and S&P up 0.3% and 0.2% respectively. Fueling the optimism was a stronger-than-expected employment report, which showed new jobless claims dropping by 94,000 last week. Keep an eye on Dell today, which announced management changes, and on oil, which reversed recent gains and fell below $37 a barrel. More»

Investors shrug off negative data

(NEWSER) - There was plenty of bad news for the market today, but investors largely shrugged it off and turned their minds toward Christmas dinner. The Dow rose a mere 3.64 points at the open, while the S&P gained 2.32 points. Consumer spending fell 0.6% last month, and initial jobless claims reached yet another 26-year high, but many investors were sitting out today’s abbreviated session. More»