Market charts in reversal and upward modes? Summer Rally?
Stephen Bernard, AP Business Writer, On Thursday July 8, 2010, 9:43 am
NEW YORK (AP) -- Stocks extended a rally into a third day as investors welcome a report that first-time jobless claims fell more than expected last week.
Mixed reports Thursday from retailers on June sales results have helped boost some individual stocks, but did not widely affect the market.
The Labor Department said initial jobless claims fell to their lowest levels since early May. Initial claims fell to a seasonally adjusted 454,000 last week, better than the 465,000 economists polled by Thomson Reuters had forecast.
The drop in claims, at least temporarily, reverses a trend of disappointing jobs reports that had sent stocks lower in recent weeks. Before a stock surge over the past two days, investors had regularly sold off stocks in recent weeks because of economic reports that showed the economy is growing, but not as fast as had been predicted.
Continued high unemployment has dragged down consumer confidence, which in turn has slowed spending. Consumer spending accounts for the bulk of economic activity. Without a rebound in jobs and sales, the economy is likely to continue to post only modest growth.
Reports from retailers indicated June sales were mixed. Limited Brands Inc., which owns Victoria's Secret and Bath & Body Works, reported sales that topped expectations. Many teen retailers saw a drop in sales last month, including Hot Topic Inc. and The Wet Seal Inc.
In early morning trading, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 77.72, or 0.8 percent, to 10,096.00. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 7.91, or 0.8 percent, to 1,068.18, while the Nasdaq composite index rose 17.25, or 0.8 percent, to 2,176.72.
The Dow jumped back above 10,000 Wednesday after soaring 275 points. It was the second straight day of gains and the first back-to-back advance since the middle of June. Traders say the recent gains, which came after seven straight days of declines, were not tied to any one particular catalyst. Instead some investors jumped into the market thinking prices had been beaten down too much in the past couple of weeks. |
