From Briefing.com: 4:30 pm : The stock market finished 2008 on a positive note, gaining 1.4% this session, and 3.9% over the past two sessions. The advance comes amid light trading volume, though, suggesting a lack of conviction behind the move.
Still, investors welcome the gains after the stock market plummeted 38.5% this year. That was the worst annual decline since 1937, when the stock market fell 38.6%. The stock market advanced almost 25% in the year following that record decline, so investors are hoping gains in recent sessions will lead the way to a better 2009.
Trading volume and news flow were relatively light in the final trading session of the year. Just 1.3 billion shares traded hands on the NYSE as market participants remain on vacation during the holiday season. Though that was the highest volume in the last seven sessions, it remains below long-term trends.
Without any major news items, participants were left to focus on a better-than-expected weekly jobless claims report. Claims for the week ending Dec. 27 totaled 492,000, down 94,000 from the prior week. The decline was largely treated as an aberration.
That notion was supported by word continuing claims increased to a multiyear record of more than 4.5 million, which was higher than expected.
Weekly crude inventory data also hit the wires this session. Inventories increased by 549,000 barrels. That contrasted with the consensus forecast, which called for a draw of 1.45 million barrels.
Crude oil prices advanced in the face of the bearish data. After spending most of the session trading lower, crude rallied to close roughly 14% higher at around $44.60 per barrel. At its session high, crude was up nearly 17%. It was down nearly 5.4% at its session low.
Despite the advance, crude prices remain pressured by weak demand, which has stemmed from economic headwinds.
To help counter such headwinds, President-Elect Obama is hatching a massive economic stimulus plan. However, The Wall Street Journal reported such a plan may not reach Congress until late January. Many were hoping a plan would arrive sooner.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Treasury announced further detail surrounding its Automotive Industry Financing Program, which will apply to automakers, auto finance companies, and any other firms it views as important to the industry, according to Reuters.
The announcement provides further clarity around the $17.4 billion bailout package the White House previously approved for U.S. automakers.
Shares of General Motors (GM 3.20, -0.60) still slumped, but Ford (F 2.29, +0.00) finished unchanged.
Overall, stocks finished the session with broad-based gains. All 10 of the major economic sectors closed higher after spending virtually the entire session in the green, though there wasnâ??t a true leader among them.
U.S. stock and bond markets are closed tomorrow, Jan. 1, in observance of New Yearâ??s Day. Markets will reopen Friday, Jan. 2.
End of Quarter Update: The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell roughly 19% this quarter; Nasdaq Composite dropped nearly 25% quarter-to-date, and; S&P 500 fell almost 23% this quarter.
End of Year Update: The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell almost 34% this year; Nasdaq Composite dropped roughly 41% for the year, and; S&P 500 shed about 38% for 2008.DJ30 +108.00 NASDAQ +26.33 NQ100 +0.9% R2K +3.5% SP400 +2.6% SP500 +12.61 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 2193/1.59 bln/676 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 2651/1.31 bln/491
7:48AM Dell announces it will organize globally around three major customer segments (DELL) 10.23 : Co announces it will organize globally around three major customer segments: large enterprise, public sector, and small and medium businesses. Dell's consumer business, led by Ron Garriques, is already organized globally. Dell believes the four groups best capitalize on the company's competitive advantages, while strengthening execution and synergies. Each group will possess greater global accountability and responsibility for responding to customer needs, and for anticipating and leading industry change. Dell said the changes result from listening to customers and responding to their desire for faster innovation and globally standardized products and services. "Customer requirements are increasingly being defined by how they use technology rather than where they use it," said Mr. Dell. "That's why we won't let ourselves be limited by geographic boundaries in solving their needs."
08:41 am Online Holiday Shopping Down 3%
Online holiday spending dipped 3% from the same period last year, according to Internet research firm comScore.
ComScore said that the decline marks the first time it has seen negative growth rates for the holiday season since the company began tracking e-commerce in 2001.
Despite the weaker spending, comScore reported that three of the top five most-visited sites saw increases in traffic from last year.
Among the more popular sites, Apple (AAPL 86.29) saw the biggest traffic increase, up 19% from last year, while Wal-Mart (WMT 55.05) site visits increased 4% and traffic at Amazon.com (AMZN 50.76) rose 7% from last year.
The most visited site remained eBay (EBAY 13.96), but traffic decreased 4% from the prior year.
Online shopping between Nov. 1 and Dec. 23 totaled $25.5 billion, according to comScore. |
