Results tagged “dow”

Arthur Cashin, director of floor operations for UBS Financial Services, is basically part of financial history, if only because of his Dow 10,000 baseball cap. Cashin got the hat on March 29, 1999, when it first broke the 10K barrier.

The stock indices all rose significantly today: The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 5.8%, gaining 379 points to close at 6,926. The S&P 500 also rose 6.4% (ending above 719) and the Nasdaq jumped 7.1%. Bloomberg News reported, "Stocks around the world staged the biggest rally of the year after Citigroup Inc. said it was having its best quarter since 2007, spurring speculation the worst of the banking crisis is over." The NY Times adds the enthusiasm was also spurred by "calls for regulatory reforms from the Federal Reserve chairman, and the possibility that the government would reinstate rules governing short sales of stocks."

The Dow Jones Industrial Average opened higher today, after the Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq all fell 4% yesterday. The NY Times explained this morning's activity, "Wall Street opened modestly higher Tuesday, a day after a rout in global stocks helped drive indexes down to 1996 levels."

While the Dow Jones Industrial Average only ("only") fell 89 points, or 1.2%, it fell below 7,500 to 7,465—the lowest level in six years. The S&P 500 lost 1.2% (its lowest since 1995) and the Nasdaq lost 1.6%. The NY Times reports, "While stocks have been trading in a broad range over the last three months, analysts said that the indexes may be carving out a new, deeper trench, where the bottom of the old range becomes the top of the new one. Stocks could linger there for the next few months, analysts said, as investors wait to see whether the $787 billion stimulus package will have any effect." One strategist told AP,"There is more pessimism in the market as to when the economy is going to pick up steam," while one investment firm's director told Reuters, "There seems to be a whiff in the air that we're moving much closer to (bank) nationalization, which would effectively wipe out stockholders."

The Dow lost almost 3% (dropping almost 250 points) and the Nasdaq and S&P 500 both lost more than 3% today, as, CNBC reports, "volatility and uncertainty remained" with worries over "earnings, retail reports, questions surrounding the status of Treasury Secretary nominee Timothy Geithner's former housekeeper and the incoming Obama administration." So everything! Oh, and there are concerns over Citigroup, whose stock fell 23% to $4.53 and bad news from other banks, too. Retail sales fell 2.7%, double what analysts thought. Now there's news that Apple CEO Steve Jobs is taking a leave of absence due to health issues.

With prospects of an auto-industry bailout fading, the Dow Jones fell 5% today, dropping 427 points to close at 7997. CNBC says the "last time the Dow ended below 8,000 was March 2003." The S&P 500 fell 6% and the Nasdaq lost 6.5%. One investment strategist at PNC Wealth Management said to Bloomberg News, "Hideous day. It's hard to put a basement on this thing."

The Dow and the S&P 500 both closed down about 5% today in a day of heavy losses. The Dow was down 443 points and closed below 9,000 amidst fears of a prolonged recession that even superhero President-elect Obama may be not be able to turn around. "Everything is so dismal right now, it's just an endless flow of bad news and no one wants to buy," despaired equity trader Dave Rovelli, who could really benefit by reading today's heartwarming good news about the Starbucks wedding proposal! CNN reports that investors are fearful about tomorrow's big monthly jobs report. Also, too, October retail sales from the chain stores were mostly "abysmal," the housing market is still collapsing, and even the recent dip in gas prices has not improved consumer spending. "People are realizing that the recession is going to drag on until at least the end of 2009," Rovelli whines. LA LA LA LA Can't hear you, Rovelli! Starbucks wedding proposal! Doggie costumes! Sasha and Malia get a puppy!

Stocks were expected to fall this morning, as Asian markets were significantly down (Nikkei -6%, Hong Kong -13%, Shanghai -6%) as are the European markets, but U.S. new home sales rose unexpectedly in September by 2.7%, so stocks declined less severely than thought for this morning. Bloomberg News said that sales were "propelled by a drop in prices ahead of the latest turmoil in financial markets."

The Dow ended the day up over 276 points to 11,239.28, thanks to higher-than- estimated profit at mortgage underwriter Wells Fargo. Even Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac rose over 15% today. The bad news: Consumer prices increased "at the fastest pace in 26 years", the FBI is investigating IndyMac for fraud and even usually "recession- proof" chocolate is hit during these harder times.