Dow Up 50 Despite Soft Spending Data

Investors look past Intel to manufacturing

(NEWSER) - Stocks rose late in today’s session, buoyed by decent news from the Fed’s Beige Book, the Wall Street Journal reports. The report showed manufacturing activity stabilizing or rising in five of 12 US districts, after months of declines. The Dow closed up 109.44 at 8,029.62. The Nasdaq gained 1.08 to close at 1,626.80, while the S&P 500 added 10.56, settling at 852.06. More»

Economic news and financial upheaval mean losses for stocks

(NEWSER) - Financial shares led stocks to deep losses today as a set of economic reports did little to reassure investors, MarketWatch reports. Citigroup lost 23.05% on news it will shed several units, while an index fund of financial shares dropped nearly 5%. The Dow closed down 248.42 at 8,200.14. The Nasdaq shed 56.82, settling at 1,489.64, and the S&P 500 dropped 29.17 to close at 842.62. More»

Markets absorb gloomy Fed data and continued oil drop

(NEWSER) - The markets pared earlier gains to end just slightly positive today, amid mixed earnings reports and a gloomy-but-expected Federal Reserve data on the US economy, the Wall Street Journal reports. The Dow gained 29.88, closing at 11,632.38. The Nasdaq gained 21.92, settling at 2,325.88, while the S&P 500 fell 5.19 to 1,282.19. 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»