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Dow: Record run for the bulls Major gauges recover after a shaky start, with the Dow industrials topping its all-time trading high; oil flip-flops. NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Stocks rallied early Wednesday afternoon, with the Dow Jones industrial average hitting a new record trading high, after closing at its best level ever on Tuesday. The Dow industrials (up 43.94 to 11,771.28, Charts) added 0.4 percent nearly three hours into the session, topping its record trading high of 11,758.95 hit Tuesday. On Tuesday, it closed at 11,727.34, taking out the record close from January 2000, at the end of the tech-driven boom of the 1990s.
The S&P 500 (up 5.63 to 1,339.74, Charts) index climbed about 0.5 percent. Last week, the broader blue-chip average hit a 5-1/2 year high. The Nasdaq composite (up 20.18 to 2,263.83, Charts) jumped 1 percent. A mix of lower oil prices and falling Treasury bond yields sparked the advance Wednesday. Stocks opened with little fanfare, but soon turned higher, as investors welcomed mixed economic news. The reports served to further bets that the economy is slowing, but not heading for recession and that the Federal Reserve will not have to raise rates again. That sent bond prices rallying and the corresponding yields tumbling. "It's encouraging to see the Dow hitting all-time highs," said Michael Sheldon, chief market strategist at Spencer Clarke. "It partly reflects the rotation in the market that we've seen over the last few months with large cap stocks starting to outperform small cap stocks, at least in the U.S." He added though that odds are growing of a short-term correction or bout of profit taking kicking in, due to a variety of technical market indicators. August factory orders were unchanged, after falling a revised 0.6 percent in the previous month. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com thought order would fall 0.2 percent. The Institute for Supply Management's September read on the services sector of the economy fell to 52.9, below forecasts for a drop to 56 from the 59 level hit in August. In the afternoon, Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke is speaking. Oil prices see-sawed in the immediate aftermath of a mixed weekly oil inventories report, before turning lower. U.S. light crude oil for November delivery fell 38 cents to $58.30 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, after rising earlier in the session. Oil prices fell 4 percent on Tuesday. What's moving? A variety of computer hardware, computer software and Internet shares gained, lifting the Nasdaq. Biotech, bank, healthcare and telecom stocks gained too, supporting the broader market. Among Dow issues, 24 out of 30 stocks gained, led by IBM (up $0.85 to $82.50, Charts), Microsoft (up $0.37 to $27.74, Charts) and Home Depot (up $0.17 to $37.00, Charts). A notable standout decliner was Dow component Wal-Mart Stores (Charts), which fell after downwardly revising its September same-store sales numbers. Earlier in the week, the retailer said sales at stores open a year or more had risen 1.8 percent, but now it says the correct number is 1.3 percent, near the low end of the range it initially gave investors. Dow stock General Motors (down $0.47 to $32.94, Charts) fell after a Wall Street Journal article said the automaker's talks with Renault-Nissan about an alliance have been terminated. Valero Energy (up $0.75 to $48.92, Charts) rose after saying late Tuesday that it expected to report record third-quarter earnings-per-share of $2.25 to $2.35. The range is below analysts' estimates, but investors focused on the record and pushed shares higher Wednesday. COMEX gold for December delivery fell $14.70 to $566.80 an ounce, after slumping more than $22 yesterday. That sent gold stocks lower, with the Amex Gold Bugs (down $6.75 to $275.92, Charts) index losing 2.4 percent. Treasury prices rallied, lowering the yield on the 10-year note to 4.57 percent from 4.61 percent late Monday. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions. Housing stocks: Don't wade in yet |
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