NEW YORK—Stocks closed higher Friday after a late rally erased the session’s losses following a disappointing jobs report.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 19.68 points, or 0.17%, to 11382.09, extending its December rally. The measure climbed 2.6% for the week.
The Nasdaq Composite gained 12.11, or 0.47%, to 2591.46, its highest close in nearly three years. The Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index rose 3.18, or 0.26%, to 1224.71.
The market had weakened for much of the day after the November jobs report missed high expectations, but other economic reports cushioned the disappointment over the weak labor-market data.
The disappointing jobs report could bolster the chances of Congress extending the Bush-era tax cuts scheduled to expire at the end of this year or give the Federal Reserve more reason to continue its bond-buying program to boost the economy, analysts said.
Craig Peckham, equity trading strategist at Jefferies, noted that stocks in the materials and energy sectors, which would benefit from a weaker dollar, climbed.
The sectors’ climb reflects “the way the market is setting itself up post-jobs report: for a higher probability of longer, if not greater, stimulative action by the Federal Reserve,” he said.
Fed chairman Ben Bernanke told CBS in an interview to be aired on Sunday that he’s not ruling out purchasing more bonds to aid the U.S. e Read more…
Stocks fell Tuesday as investors became increasingly concerned about the potential impacts of the Federal Reserve’s stimulus plans announced last week.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 60.09 points, or 0.53%, to 11346.75. Bank of America was the measure’s weakest performer, off 33 cents, or 2.6%, to $12.27. Despite its plans to sell 25% more shares of BlackRock than it intended, the banking giant at this point remains short of the amount of capital it is supposed to have raised by a year-end deadline.
Chevron also weighed on the Dow with a drop of 1.24, or 1.5%, to 83.56 after the energy giant agreed to pay $3.2 billion in cash and assume $1.1 billion in debt to purchase Atlas Energy. Atlas shareholders will receive $38.25 a share in cash, a premium of 21% over its Monday closing price. Shares of Atlas, which isn’t a Dow component, surged 10.78, or 34%, to 42.50.
The Nasdaq Composite lost 17.07, or 0.66%, to 2562.98. The Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index shed 9.85, or 0.81%, to 1213.40.
By Kristina Peterson And Donna Kardos Yesalavich
Worry about the outlook for two corporate heavyweights and a weekend meeting of global finance officials kept pressure on the Dow Jones Industrial Average on Friday, but major stock indexes still gained on the week.
The Dow slid 14.31 points, or 0.13%, to 11132.56 in light volume to end the week as results from American Express and Verizon Communications raised questions about future profit growth.
Both reported better-than-expected earnings, but AmEx fell $1.24, or 3.1%, to $39.03 on concerns that it is seeing weak demand for new loans, and Verizon dropped 43 cents, or 1.3%, to 32.09 on investor disappointment over slowing wireless-subscriber growth.
However, the Dow managed to gain 0.63% for the week, its third week in a row of gains and seventh advance over the last eight weeks.
Strong earnings reports have helped set an upbeat tone for stocks. More than three-quarters of companies within the S&P 500 have beat earnings estimates as of Thurday’s close, according to S&P.
By Jonathan Cheng And Min Zeng
Stocks saw a late surge collapse as investors reassessed Federal Reserve moves to try and support an increasingly wobbly economic recovery.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished down 54.50 points, or 0.51%, at 10644.25 after surging after the Fed announcement to erase the majority of its earlier triple-digit loss. Treasurys jumped, while the U.S. dollar plunged, shaving off a day of strong gains.
At the end of their one-day policy meeting, Fed officials said they would reinvest the proceeds from expiring agency debt and mortgage-backed securities into Treasurys, to keep long-term borrowing costs for businesses and consumers low. The U.S. central bank also acknowledged that the pace of the recovery had slowed in recent months.
“The Fed is still very concerned about this economy, as we all are,” said Randy Bateman, president and chief investment officer for Huntington Asset Advisors.