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Wall Street rallied Thursday, as stronger labor market and manufacturing data lifted sentiment after three days of losses, while higher quarterly profit from FedEx also boosted equities.
The Dow Jones industrial average rallied over 100 points at the start of trading, but was lately down from its early high.
In economic news, a report showed new applications for unemployment insurance fell to a 3-1/2 year low, suggesting a job market recovery was gaining speed, while a gauge of New York state manufacturing activity rose to its highest level since May.
"It all speaks to further stabilization and a very positive trend in the U.S. economy," said Peter Kenny, managing director at Knight Capital in Jersey City, New Jersey. "It will give a bid to U.S. equity markets and make EU markets look relatively less attractive."
FedEx Corp shares were up 4 percent after the package delivery group, seen as a bellwether of economic activity, reported higher-than-expected quarterly profit.
Spain saw bond yields fall in a well-received auction, raising roughly twice what the government had targeted.
Equity markets have lately tracked European bond prices, using them as a gauge of risk appetite.
Novellus Systems Inc jumped 23 percent one day after larger rival Lam Research Corp agreed to buy it for $3.3 billion in stock.
Michael Kors Holdings Ltd said Wednesday it raised the size of its initial public offering and priced the stock at $20 per share, above the expected range. Its shares spiked in stock trading Thursday.
Reuters contributed to this report.
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A booming economy...all that is needed now is improving housing market. All it will happen. All that is needed is a temporary requirement that lenders allow mortgage assumptions, irrespective of the appraised home value. If a buyer with equal or better credit than the seller wants to buy the sellers home, the lender would allow the buyer to assume the mortgage. Then the buyer would not have to come up with these big down payments. For example, if a seller owes $210,000 on a home with a $200,000 appraised value and a buyer may want to acquire the home for $210,000 if he doesn't have to come up with the $50,000 that lenders would require in a traditional transaction. The seller could sell, the buyer could buy and the lender is in the same position (no worse off). And it doesn't cost the government a penny. The housing would be fixed, and the economy would boom. Horray for the USA!!!
Tom either your a dis-information troll or are completely uninformed. I'm all for having the economy turn around but the facts don't bare that out. Not that I believe anything the media (presstitutes) spews out, the headline on MSNBC reads:
'Dismal': One in two
Americans are now
poor or low-income
Latest census data depict shrinking middle class as unemployment stays high and government's safety net frays.
The housing market is still under complete duress. When you have:
1. 50 million people that can't go to the doctor because they have no insurance.
2. 47 million people relying on food stamps to feed themselves.
3. 25 million who are unemployed or under employed.
4. 15 million people who's mortgages are more than their homes are worth.
5. A stock market who's derivitives markets are in the quadrillions (1.5). MF Global, the canary in the coal mine has shown that nobody's money is safe in the stock market, ask Gerald Celente and all the farmers who lost their money (40 billion dollar bankruptcy).
6. The Eurozone has collapsed they are just looking for a place to fall down. Europe is allowing the banksters to foreclose on their countries and putting technocrats (who are ex Goldman Sachs banksters) in charge of their countries and foreclosure process.
7. The US military is transferring soldiers from Iraq to the Jordanian Syrian border. We are still in a war in Afghanistan. Sending military drones into Pakistan, Yemen, Uganda, Somalia, Iran, and now in the United States for "law enforcement".
Yeah, everything is rosy. Hooray!
Hey TrustVerify? Yeah, yeah, yeah we KNOW that you can find negative stats to quote til your blue in the face. And that's MEANINGLESS.
You are your type DELIBERATELY choose to IGNORE the point, which is that THE ECONOMY IS IMPROVING. No one said it was PERFECT.
One has to feel sorry for you Republicans. Why? Because any GOOD economic news is tragically DEVASTATING to you types. (But it's EXCELLENT news for Americans.) Too bad you're only happy when things are getting worse.............what a sad way to live.
I don't get it, the IMF has just warned of a pending great depression and the market is up?
anyone else getting "motion sickness"?
AH Yeah!I'm about to throw up!Anyone Else?
Hey gloria? You always get carsick too. Stop overeating and lose some weight, girl!
Further proof that investors are lemmings and idiots. The "upbeat economic news" are pencil whipped figures published for purely political reasons which bear no resemblance to reality. The Ponzi scheme is at the precipice of collapse and the sheep are thundering towards the cliff. There's no turning back now. Enjoy the holidays if you're fortunate enough to still be able to put a loaf of bread on the table, it'll likely be the last for quite awhile. Feliz Navidad
Things are starting to roll folks. The boom is coming and time to get on the train for the ride. You snooze you lose.
Yeah things are starting to roll alright,DOWN HILL!
The only Boom as you call it, coming is the BOOM you hear of this Country Imploding Itself!
Yes Yes folks time to hop on board the TRAIN TO DELUSION!ALL A BOARD!
Now Gloria, don't be a Miss Grouchy Underpants! (No one likes a Miss Grouchy Underpants!)
Why not talk to your family doctor? He could probably proscribe a mild antidepressant for you? You might feel better dear :-)
Would that be Obama's bullet train?
Joe, our political system has turned into a two headed one party system serving their masters, Wall Street and the banksters\Federal Reserve. If you think your vote is going to change that dynamic you have alot more faith in the system than I do.
The purpose of the political system is to make us think we have a say at the banksters table but all it does is keep people in fear, divided, and distracted to the theft that is going on right in front of our eyes every second of the day.
T-V... well said!!
Oh, oh...more "bad" economic news for the Republicans!
I wonder who it is they think believes their lies...I'm just tired of it all....good for the 1% who are really into what the stock market does....I'm done.
Watching Wall Street is more entertaining than any sitcom on TV........hilarious.....
What upbeat news????
that 1 in 2 americans are in poverty?
that the auctions of foreclosed homes is seeing an upswing?
that the number of foreclosed homes is rising?
that mortgage rates are dropping (mind you that people need to put 80% down now )
the news that the fed is assisting European banks?
OH YEA THATS REAL UPBEAT NEWS
wake up people, were being played
This shows that people should judge the market over the long term.
What has the market been in the last five year?
7000 in 2008 and now 11,000 in 2011?
What a bunch of crap. One day the market is "nervous" about the European economy, and crashes 300 points. The next day a good jobs report causes the market to soar. This is all a bunch of sh*t manipulated by the big money people who make money by selling short when they know it will tank, and buying low after it does.
As for me, I'm burying my money in coffee tins in my back yard. Fvck these a$$holes.
ROFLMAO!
Fedx "the bellweather of the economy" had to raise their rates, not once, but twice since August 2011 to accomplish their little feat..........had they not raised their rates twice this year, I doubt very much that they would have met their earnings call.
And take it from some one who watches the market action very closely all day long.............fedx is one HUGE pump and dump right now! It shot straight up on the open this morning, went flat for the rest of the day waiting for the suckers to come in and buy at the pumped up prices.
Also, the media waited until after the "Pumping" to announce that fedx has ordered a whole new fleet of airplanes which puts them further in debt and the public and investors paying for the new aircraft..........I notice this article neglected to mention that, but of course the MSNBC pump and dump media very seldom reports the "real facts".
home sales up 10%
same for auto sales
holiday sales expected to be a record $ 469 billion
unemployment at lowest level in 2.5 years, unemployment claims lowest in 3.5 years...
all bad news for republicans