Post by Moses on Jan 7, 2006 18:41:10 GMT -5
Investors rally as jobs vanish
US stocks have continued their New Year rally, pushing major indexes to their highest closes in 4 years, with investors viewing a slowdown in employment as a precursor to the end of the FedeYrest rate hikes.
At the close of trading, the Dow gained 77.16 points, or 0.71 per cent, to be 10,959.31. The average has not closed above 11,000 since before the September 11 attacks.
Broader stock indicators had their best finish since May 2001. The S&P 500 was up 11.97, or 0.94 per cent, at 1285.45, and the Nasdaq climbed 28.75, or 1.26 per cent, to 2305.62.
Bonds were little changed, with the yield on the 10-year treasury note rising to 4.37 per cent from 4.36 per cent yesterday. The dollar was mixed against most major currencies, while gold prices fell.
A spike in crude futures did little to stop the market's momentum, further expanding last week's gains as political uncertainty in the Middle East sent jitters through the energy market. A barrel of light crude added $US1.42 to settle at $US64.21 on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
The major indexes each gained more than 2 per cent in the first four sessions of 2006.
Much of the advance was fuelled by Tuesday's release of the minutes from the Federal Reserve's December meeting, launching the Dow up 130 points.
For the week, the Dow gained 2.26 per cent and the Nasdaq rose 2.98 per cent.
Traders were mostly optimistic about a US Labour Department report that employers added 108,000 jobs last month, about half the 200,000 forecast and well behind November's 305,000 gain.
Source: The Sun-Herald
US stocks have continued their New Year rally, pushing major indexes to their highest closes in 4 years, with investors viewing a slowdown in employment as a precursor to the end of the FedeYrest rate hikes.
At the close of trading, the Dow gained 77.16 points, or 0.71 per cent, to be 10,959.31. The average has not closed above 11,000 since before the September 11 attacks.
Broader stock indicators had their best finish since May 2001. The S&P 500 was up 11.97, or 0.94 per cent, at 1285.45, and the Nasdaq climbed 28.75, or 1.26 per cent, to 2305.62.
Bonds were little changed, with the yield on the 10-year treasury note rising to 4.37 per cent from 4.36 per cent yesterday. The dollar was mixed against most major currencies, while gold prices fell.
A spike in crude futures did little to stop the market's momentum, further expanding last week's gains as political uncertainty in the Middle East sent jitters through the energy market. A barrel of light crude added $US1.42 to settle at $US64.21 on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
The major indexes each gained more than 2 per cent in the first four sessions of 2006.
Much of the advance was fuelled by Tuesday's release of the minutes from the Federal Reserve's December meeting, launching the Dow up 130 points.
For the week, the Dow gained 2.26 per cent and the Nasdaq rose 2.98 per cent.
Traders were mostly optimistic about a US Labour Department report that employers added 108,000 jobs last month, about half the 200,000 forecast and well behind November's 305,000 gain.
Source: The Sun-Herald
