Wall Street cheers as strong debt auction, P&G forecast, Geithner comments and drop in jobless claims draw investors.
Stocks surged Thursday, with the major gauges ending at the highest point in nearly a year, having responded strongly to a debt auction and Procter & Gamble’s improved forecast.
The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) gained 80 points, or 0.8%, closing at the highest point since last Oct. 6.
The S&P 500 (SPX) index rose 11 points, or 1%, closing at the highest point since Oct. 6. The Nasdaq composite (COMP) added 24 points, or 1.2%, closing at the highest point since Sept. 26.
All three major indexes have now risen for five consecutive sessions, extending the six-month old stock market advance. Since bottoming March 9 at a 12-year low, the S&P 500 has risen 54% as investors have gone from pricing in a depression to a recession to a recovery.
A combination of a weaker dollar, rising commodity prices and old-fashioned skepticism has fueled the latest leg of the advance, said Paul Brigandi, vice president of trading at Direxion Funds.
“The train of thought through the end of August was that the advance was not justified by the fundamentals, the fall is typically weak and so stocks will sell off,” Brigandi said. “But the stock market has a tendency to do the opposite of what everyone is thinking.”
Tags: Debt, Dow Jones Industrial, jobless, Nasdaq composite, recession
