Heading Into Bubble Territory; Dow Hits Record High After Services Index Rise; Europe Rallies

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[Chart courtesy of MarketWatch.com] The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped to a new high Tuesday, trimming losses from the financial crisis after a four-year rally, fueled by monetary stimulus from the Federal Reserve and alleged indications of an improving economy. Equities extended their gains after the Institute for Supply Management’s index for non-manufacturing activity rose to 56 percent from 55.2 …

Indexes Retreat As Senate Rejects Sequestration Plan; Europe Rises On Draghi, Bernanke

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[Chart courtesy of MarketWatch.com] US indexes did an about face and retreated in the final minutes of trading erasing earlier gains after a Senate vote kept $85 billion of automatic spending cuts in place starting at midnight, and data on growth and employment gave out mixed signals about the economy’s health. Gains in the US equity averages fizzled out after …

US Indexes Hit Fresh Five-Year Highs; European Stocks Rally As German Sentiment Improves

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[Chart courtesy of MarketWatch.com] US stocks finished higher Tuesday, sending the Dow Industrials and S&P 500 to new five-year highs, buoyed by a rise in corporate deal making and an improvement in German investor sentiment. OfficeMax Inc vaulted 21 percent while Office Depot Inc jumped 9.4 percent after the Wall Street Journal reported Monday (a market holiday) that the companies were in …

Major Market Indexes Lose Face-Off with Gravity; Europe Dives

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[Chart courtesy of MarketWatch.com] I did not think it was possible that the markets were actually able to lose a face-off with gravity after their relentless and almost uninterrupted ascent since mid-November. Even the by now well documented afternoon “lift-a-thon” was notably absent, as the major market indexes took their cue from Europe and produced their worst loss of this …

Equities Advance On Fiscal Cliff Hopes; Europe Little Changed As Optimism Fades

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[Chart courtesy of MarketWatch.com] US equities firmed up Thursday with the S&P 500 rebounding from its worst slump in five weeks, as House Speaker John Boehner expressed optimism about reaching a deal with President Obama. Sentiment also got a boost after third-quarter economic growth was revised higher at an annualized pace of 3.1 percent, much higher than the 1.3 percent …

Uncertainty Reigns As Apple Weighs On NASDAQ; Europe Rises As Nokia Rallies

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[Chart courtesy of MarketWatch.com] US equities ended mostly higher Wednesday as Wall Street applauded comments from President Obama on the fiscal cliff, and investors lapped up upbeat corporate news, but Apple Inc dragged down the NASDAQ Composite. On the economic front, the Institute for Supply Management reported a slightly faster pace of growth for the US services sector in November, …