Portfolio Crafter
12-08-2006, 09:47 PM
End of Day Market Summary Friday 12/8/2006
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Stocks closed higher posting a weekly gain, as investors digested a slightly stronger-than-expected November jobs report, and bought recently battered shares in the technology sector. The jobs report eased worries about the slowing economy, but investors couldn't muster much momentum ahead of next week's Federal Reserve meeting.
Today, the Dow Jones industrial average closed up 29.08 or 0.24% to 12,307.49, the broader S&P 500 index closed up 2.55 or 0.18% to 1,409.84, and the tech-fueled Nasdaq closed up 9.67 or 0.40% to 2,437.36. For the week, the blue-chip Dow and S&P 500 both rose 0.9%, while the Nasdaq added 1%.
Market breadth was mixed. On the New York Stock Exchange, losers barely topped winners by a narrow margin on volume of 1.36 billion shares. On the Nasdaq, advancers barely topped decliners 15 to 14 as 1.83 billion shares changed hands.
The market got an boost after the Labor Department report showed that employers added 132,000 jobs to November payrolls, up from the expected gain of 105,000. The unemployment rate rose to 4.5% from 4.4%, as expected. Average hourly earnings, rose a smaller-than-expected 0.2% in the month. Overall, the numbers seemed to reinforce bets that the economy is heading for a "soft landing" and not a recession, which is comforting to stock investors.
The University of Michigan stated that consumer sentiment fell in December, as consumers pared back their views of future financial conditions. The preliminary reading on consumer sentiment in December was 90.2, down from November's reading of 92.1. Consumers' expectations for increased inflation were little changed in December. The reading on one year U.S. inflation expectations was 3.0%. Median expectations for inflation over a five-year horizon nudged higher to 3.1% in November.
Stock of McDonald's Corp. gained 1.1% at $43.76, after it said that global November sales at restaurants open at least one year rose 6.2%. The system wide sales rose 10.5%. McDonald's continues to produce strong results in all regions driven by the successful combination of a value menu/premium products, operational initiatives, and growth in both the breakfast, late night parts, and new product promotions.
Shares of innovator 3M closed down $1.00 or 1.3% to $78.56, after Prudential downgraded it to "neutral" from "overweigh". Shares of National Semiconductor closed up $0.05 to $23.97, after warning that third-quarter revenue won't meet expectations. The company also reported fiscal second-quarter earnings and revenue that fell from a year ago due to higher inventories.
Shares of Hewlett Packard closed down $0.22 to $39.64, after stating that it will pay $14.5 million as part of an agreement to settle civil claims related to its controversial leak investigation with the California attorney general's office. Of this payment, $13.5 million will be used to establish a fund that helps California state prosecutors investigate violations of privacy rights and intellectual property rights.
Stock of Bank of America Corp. dropped 1.6% after a Merrill Lynch analyst said that the bank is "very interested" in acquiring U.K. bank Barclays Plc. It is expected that Bank of America is about to make a bid in a deal that would create the world's biggest bank.
U.S. light crude oil for January delivery tumbled 46 cents to settle at $62.03 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
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Stocks closed higher posting a weekly gain, as investors digested a slightly stronger-than-expected November jobs report, and bought recently battered shares in the technology sector. The jobs report eased worries about the slowing economy, but investors couldn't muster much momentum ahead of next week's Federal Reserve meeting.
Today, the Dow Jones industrial average closed up 29.08 or 0.24% to 12,307.49, the broader S&P 500 index closed up 2.55 or 0.18% to 1,409.84, and the tech-fueled Nasdaq closed up 9.67 or 0.40% to 2,437.36. For the week, the blue-chip Dow and S&P 500 both rose 0.9%, while the Nasdaq added 1%.
Market breadth was mixed. On the New York Stock Exchange, losers barely topped winners by a narrow margin on volume of 1.36 billion shares. On the Nasdaq, advancers barely topped decliners 15 to 14 as 1.83 billion shares changed hands.
The market got an boost after the Labor Department report showed that employers added 132,000 jobs to November payrolls, up from the expected gain of 105,000. The unemployment rate rose to 4.5% from 4.4%, as expected. Average hourly earnings, rose a smaller-than-expected 0.2% in the month. Overall, the numbers seemed to reinforce bets that the economy is heading for a "soft landing" and not a recession, which is comforting to stock investors.
The University of Michigan stated that consumer sentiment fell in December, as consumers pared back their views of future financial conditions. The preliminary reading on consumer sentiment in December was 90.2, down from November's reading of 92.1. Consumers' expectations for increased inflation were little changed in December. The reading on one year U.S. inflation expectations was 3.0%. Median expectations for inflation over a five-year horizon nudged higher to 3.1% in November.
Stock of McDonald's Corp. gained 1.1% at $43.76, after it said that global November sales at restaurants open at least one year rose 6.2%. The system wide sales rose 10.5%. McDonald's continues to produce strong results in all regions driven by the successful combination of a value menu/premium products, operational initiatives, and growth in both the breakfast, late night parts, and new product promotions.
Shares of innovator 3M closed down $1.00 or 1.3% to $78.56, after Prudential downgraded it to "neutral" from "overweigh". Shares of National Semiconductor closed up $0.05 to $23.97, after warning that third-quarter revenue won't meet expectations. The company also reported fiscal second-quarter earnings and revenue that fell from a year ago due to higher inventories.
Shares of Hewlett Packard closed down $0.22 to $39.64, after stating that it will pay $14.5 million as part of an agreement to settle civil claims related to its controversial leak investigation with the California attorney general's office. Of this payment, $13.5 million will be used to establish a fund that helps California state prosecutors investigate violations of privacy rights and intellectual property rights.
Stock of Bank of America Corp. dropped 1.6% after a Merrill Lynch analyst said that the bank is "very interested" in acquiring U.K. bank Barclays Plc. It is expected that Bank of America is about to make a bid in a deal that would create the world's biggest bank.
U.S. light crude oil for January delivery tumbled 46 cents to settle at $62.03 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
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