Market Recap: Stocks Rebound as Investors Focus on Signs of Economic Strength
- Posted on December 29, 2011 at 6:21pm by
Becket Adams
- Print »
- Email »
Markets closed up on Wall Street today:
- Dow +1.10 percent
- S&P+1.06 percent
- Nasdaq +0.92 percent
- Oil +0.29 percent
- Gold -1.05 percent
On the commodities front:
- Oil (NYSE:USO) climbed to $99.65 a barrel
- Gold (NYSE:GLD) falling to $1,547.60
- Silver (NYSE:SLV) climbed 1.78 percent to settle at $27.72
(Related: Oil Prices Could Stay Above $100 a Barrel Through 2012)
Today’s markets were up because:
1) Housing: The number of Americans signing contracts to buy homes rose in November to an 18-month high, offering yet another sign of a tentative recovery in the housing market. The National Association of Realtors’ Pending Home Sales Index, which is based on contracts signed in November, increased 7.3 percent to 100.1 — the highest level since April 2010. A reading of 100 is considered healthy. The report boosted shares of homebuilders, including Pulte, DR Horton, Masco, Lennar, and NVR Inc.
2) Employment: New jobless claims rose more than expected last week. The U.S. Labor Department’s weekly report on initial unemployment benefits applications showed claims to have risen by 15,000 to a seasonally adjusted 381,000 in the week ended December 24. However, the four-week moving average, considered to be a better measure of overall trends, fell 5,750 to 375,000, its lowest level since June 2008. Furthermore, the weekly initial claims figure remains below the 400,000 mark that is normally associated with an improvement in labor market conditions.
2) Italy: The European sovereign debt crisis has remained a focal point in the eyes of investors throughout the year, and market trends have been strongly linked to progress, or lack thereof, made toward effecting a solution to the debt crisis. So when Italy, the euro zone’s third-biggest economy, saw yields on long-term bonds decline today, one day after yields on short-term bonds were halved, it gave investors hope that Italy will survive the crisis.
However, the Italian bond market was buoyed by the European Central Bank’s new three-year liquidity measures. The ECB last week loaned European banks 489 billion euros in a bid to keep credit flowing to the euro economy, of which Italian lenders borrowed 116 billion euros. After today’s auction, the yield on the benchmark 10-year note climbed 12 basis points to 7.12 percent.
[Editor’s note: the above is a cross post that originally appeared on Wall St. Cheat Sheet.]
Comments (16)
Sign In To Post Comments! Sign In
Popular Stories
Does Misstated Marathon Claim Prove Paul Ryan Is Dishonest? (POLL) 706 Comments
Paper Details Obama Admin’s Alleged Secret Note Sent to Iran: If Israel Attacks, We Won’t Get Involved 550 Comments
‘Made Up Religion’: TV Historian Enrages Muslims, Receives Threats After Producing UK Documentary Questioning Islam’s Beginnings 367 Comments
This Is the Creationists‘ Response to Scientist Bill Nye’s Viral Pro-Evolution Video Claiming They Harm Children 363 Comments
Roseanne Barr: Most Billionaires ‘Violent Pedophiles’ & ‘Heartless’ Cocaine Addicts 361 Comments
Faith
- This Is the Creationists‘ Response to Scientist Bill Nye’s Viral Pro-Evolution Video Claiming They Harm Children 363 Comments
Pakistani Muslim Cleric Accused of Framing Disabled Christian Girl in Koran-Burning Case Read More- ‘Made Up Religion’: TV Historian Enrages Muslims, Receives Threats After Producing UK Documentary Questioning Islam’s Beginnings 367 Comments
Meet the Controversial German Imam Accused of Brutally Beating His Wife & Pushing Sharia Law Read More
‘Self-Proclaimed Messiah’ & Unification Church Leader the Rev. Sun Myung Moon Has Died — Here’s His Life Story Read More
Business
- President Obama Issues Major ‘Green Energy’ Executive Order 281 Comments
- Germany’s Upcoming Court Ruling Will be Huge for the EU Read More
Ford Looks to Beat Toyota for Best-Selling Car in 2012 With This Model 149 Comments
Bernanke & QE3: Here’s What You Need to Know Read More- ‘Extortion’: Why Did the Labor Department ‘Drop the Hammer’ on Oregon Farmers? 302 Comments
Technology
- This Is the Creationists‘ Response to Scientist Bill Nye’s Viral Pro-Evolution Video Claiming They Harm Children 363 Comments
‘TaserDrone’: Hackers Weaponize Quadcopter With Actual ‘Shocking’ Technology Read More
Ever Heard of the Wild ‘Burning Man’ Festival in the Middle of the Nev. Desert? Here’s Your Primer Read More
Stanford Develops Technology ‘Better Than Steroids’ for Athlete Recovery Read More
Have You Pretended to Know What ‘the Cloud’ Is? You’re Not Alone Read More
Submitting your tip... please wait!
LOJ
Posted on December 30, 2011 at 9:17amMore Delusions about the Economy. Sears and Kmart will close at least 100 stores. Sears and KMart sell to alot of people, specifically the lower and Middle class who can’t afford high priced stores, this isn’t good for the economy at all! All this is more deception to trick people into buying stock and trusting the market, then to have a huge collapse. Many people who are savvy and realize who is running this show, (George Soros) and are not falling for the lies!
Report Post »hempstead1944
Posted on December 30, 2011 at 8:40amFalse figures……market simply manipulated to secure some year end profits for traders.
Report Post »SamIamTwo
Posted on December 29, 2011 at 9:15pmYeah, well it is getting near election year. LOL
Report Post »DESKOCCUPANT
Posted on December 29, 2011 at 8:39pmI wonder which super powerful telescope they used to see these so-called signs? Must have been the size of the state of RI!
Report Post »ForMyKidsVA
Posted on December 29, 2011 at 8:18pmOh yes, it’s all rosy out there. All our friends who lost jobs this year are still unemployed. Everytime I go to the grocery store it costs more than the week before. The value of our house keeps going down. Spain just announced their economy is on the decline. LTRO was a huge failure in the EU. Iran is acting up. Weekly numbers are manipulated and always revised down. The Fed is using swaps to hide the fact that we are bailing out Euro banks.
Do I really need to go on, all you trolls, who are trying to castigate those of us who don’t have our headse our heads buried in the sand?
Report Post »bernbart
Posted on December 29, 2011 at 7:11pmIt is very sad that conservatives hope for a bad economy in a desperate attempt to defeat Obama.
Report Post »chips1
Posted on December 29, 2011 at 7:00pmObama’s goal is to destroy America. All muslims have the same goal, Watch your back or you will lose your head. Your being monitored. You haven’t seen anything yet. If I’m wrong, you haven’t lost anything. If I’m right, you’ve got nothing!!!!
Report Post »scheduler
Posted on December 29, 2011 at 7:09pmJust numbers.
http://politicalbowl.com – Political Videos
Report Post »bernbart
Posted on December 29, 2011 at 7:10pmI think meds help with the paranoia.
Report Post »TRILO
Posted on December 29, 2011 at 6:51pmThe market is on drugs, that is the only way to explain these wild swings. So the market swings to the positive because of “pending” home sales. Yet just a few weeks ago the National Association of Realtors disclosed that they had to recalculate home sales because they discovered an “accounting” error. After their discovery, it was found that housing sales are on par for 2007 levels. Case-Shiller comes out yesterday and says that housing prices on a monthy and yearly basis are down; in some markets prices are at 2000 price levels. So “pending” sales creates a jump in the market.
I am not even going to discuss the unemployment numbers as we know these numbers are a complete fraud. Every month they have to re-adjust #’s and those adjustments are never in the positive direction.
Crack, it is the only thing I can think of that makes any sense.
Report Post »KickinBack
Posted on December 29, 2011 at 6:48pmWatch how the liberals tout Obama for bringing back the economy next year. Already they’re saying that 9% unemployment is the new norm, so when it dips a couple points down, Voila!
Report Post »bernbart
Posted on December 29, 2011 at 7:06pmsince Obama took office… 25 million new jobs created in the private sector; Stock market up, unemployment down. Republicans blame Obama for a bad economy created before he took office but not credit for the growth since he took office . I think the republicans are are losing another talking point .
Report Post »certified ethical hacker
Posted on December 29, 2011 at 6:41pmhere is my prediction, the demoturd$ will wait until the perfect time. then they will release news stories every day saying how Americans are living better than they every have and it is all due to the progress made by the obummer administration. they will overwhelm us with their fake poof and it will probably work to get him reelected, it is not to hard to fool most people. besides all obummer has to do to win is somehow get enough ignorant whites to vote for him and that is all he will do for a few months, that will reelect him (he knows he has the minoroity vote so why waste time with it) obummer has screwed America in his first term but that will pale in comparison to how he will stick it to us in the next term. he knows he needs four more years(he can not get more unless he enacts marshall law and closes further elections) you can also bet most ignorant whites will again be told if they vote for a black it will absolve them for their racist ways
Report Post »bernbart
Posted on December 29, 2011 at 7:09pmOf course republcans have been putting out fake reports that Obama created a Giant deficit, when in fact Obama inherited the Giant deficit from Bush who did not count the cost of 2 wars in his budgets or deficit.
Report Post »randy
Posted on December 29, 2011 at 7:54pmFake reports? Are you really that dumb?
Report Post »Obama has spent more than all the Presidents combined moron….
Every time I hear someone say it‘s bush’s “Giant” deficit,
I immediately know the mentality of the person I hear it from.
Eliasim
Posted on December 29, 2011 at 6:32pmBoy oh boy, don’t get used to oil $99 per barrel.
Report Post »