NEW YORK(AP)�New optimism that leaders in Europe will take decisive action to address their debt crisis and the Fed will act to help the faltering U.S. economy pushed stocks higher for a second day Friday.
The Dow Jones industrial average topped 13,000, ending the day 187.73 points higher, and finishing with a gain for the week. Major indexes were strongly higher.
The Dow closed up 1.5% on the day to 13,075.66; the broader Standard and Poor's 500 stock index ended up 25.95 points or 1.9% to 1,385.97; the Nasdaq composite index finished up 64.84 points, or 2.2%, at 2,958.09.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq finally rebounded after a terrible week in which even the impervious Apple seemed to disappoint. Though the Nasdaq rose Friday, many analysts said the downward trend has not changed.
Shares of Facebook plunged even though the social network giant posted an increase in revenue growth late Thursday. Shares earlier had touched lows not seen since the company's debut on the Nasdaq in May that many considered a disaster launch. Shares ended the day down 11.7% to $23.70 after being down as much as 14% in the morning. The previous low, reached last month, was $25.52.
Markets began to rally Thursday after European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said fiscal policy leaders would do "whatever it takes" within the organization's mandate to preserve the euro.
Stock trendDow Jones industrial average, five trading days
That appeared to carry more weight than the latest numbers on U.S. gross domestic product, released Friday by the Commerce Department.
The U.S. economy grew at an annual rate of 1.5% from April through June as Americans, uneasy about jobs, cut back sharply on spending. The slowest growth in a year will do little to alleviate fears that the economy, now three years removed from recession, is stalling.
However, first-quarter growth was not as bad as previously thought. The Commerce Department raised its estimate to a 2% rate, up from 1.9%, for the January-March quarter.
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