THE NASDAQ BROKE THROUGH the 2,000 threshold for the first time in four months and the Dow took out the 10,000 barrier Wednesday, as investors bought into the notion that technology's downturn has hit bottom.
At 11:29 a.m. ET, the Dow was up 151.67 points to 10045.51, while the Nasdaq surged more than 3%, gaining 61.50 to 2024.60. The S&P 500 rose 17.64 to 1162.44. Tech stocks and home builders led the advance. Russian plans to cut oil output boosted crude prices and drillers' stocks. The health-care and consumer-staples sectors lagged.
The rally picked up steam after the Purchasing Managers' nonmanufacturing index jumped to 51.3% in November from 40.6% in October, suggesting that the services sector has stopped contracting.
Amid the fighting in Afghanistan and the Mideast, terror alerts and the global economic slump, the danger that increasingly worries investors is missing stocks' next great leap. Wednesday's installment came on the heels of another big rally a day earlier on hopes that the economy will rebound strongly next year.
"So long as the market has managed to go up despite gloomy news on Argentina, on Enron and on the international front, that’s very encouraging to investors," said First Albany chief investment officer Hugh Johnson. "More than anything, it’s the performance of the market that has people excited."
Article from smartmoney.com
At 11:29 a.m. ET, the Dow was up 151.67 points to 10045.51, while the Nasdaq surged more than 3%, gaining 61.50 to 2024.60. The S&P 500 rose 17.64 to 1162.44. Tech stocks and home builders led the advance. Russian plans to cut oil output boosted crude prices and drillers' stocks. The health-care and consumer-staples sectors lagged.
The rally picked up steam after the Purchasing Managers' nonmanufacturing index jumped to 51.3% in November from 40.6% in October, suggesting that the services sector has stopped contracting.
Amid the fighting in Afghanistan and the Mideast, terror alerts and the global economic slump, the danger that increasingly worries investors is missing stocks' next great leap. Wednesday's installment came on the heels of another big rally a day earlier on hopes that the economy will rebound strongly next year.
"So long as the market has managed to go up despite gloomy news on Argentina, on Enron and on the international front, that’s very encouraging to investors," said First Albany chief investment officer Hugh Johnson. "More than anything, it’s the performance of the market that has people excited."
Article from smartmoney.com
