Confluence of good news sends stocks to multiyear highs
Confluence of good news sends stocks to multiyear highs
Stocks soared to multiyear highs yesterday as investors welcomed a trifecta of positive signals on the economy from U.S. consumers, the banking system and the Federal Reserve, The Wall Street Journal reported.
The Nasdaq composite index finished above the 3,000 level for the first time since December 2000, adding 56 points to close at 3,039.88. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 218 points, or 1.7 percent, to close at 13,177.68, its highest level since December 2007. The Standard & Poor’s 500 stock index barreled toward 1,400, a level it hasn’t seen since June 2008.
For all three indexes, Tuesday’s jump was the biggest in point and percentage terms this year.
The most powerful move came in the final hour of trading, after blue-chip financial company JPMorgan Chase & Co. said the Federal Reserve had signed off on its plan to raise its dividend and launch a new round of share buybacks. That was followed by announcements from several banks that they had passed the Fed’s “stress tests.”
Michael Cippoletti, head of U.S. equity capital markets for BMO Capital Markets, said investors were willing to overlook any concerns that the Fed may be less likely to step up its bond-buying plans, which some investors had expected after a Wall Street Journal article last week raised the prospect of further bond purchases by the Fed. Investors have driven stock prices higher in recent years as the Fed launched bond purchases to lower interest rates and support the U.S. economy.
Stocks soared to multiyear highs yesterday as investors welcomed a trifecta of positive signals on the economy from U.S. consumers, the banking system and the Federal Reserve, The Wall Street Journal reported.
The Nasdaq composite index finished above the 3,000 level for the first time since December 2000, adding 56 points to close at 3,039.88. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 218 points, or 1.7 percent, to close at 13,177.68, its highest level since December 2007. The Standard & Poor’s 500 stock index barreled toward 1,400, a level it hasn’t seen since June 2008.
For all three indexes, Tuesday’s jump was the biggest in point and percentage terms this year.
The most powerful move came in the final hour of trading, after blue-chip financial company JPMorgan Chase & Co. said the Federal Reserve had signed off on its plan to raise its dividend and launch a new round of share buybacks. That was followed by announcements from several banks that they had passed the Fed’s “stress tests.”
Michael Cippoletti, head of U.S. equity capital markets for BMO Capital Markets, said investors were willing to overlook any concerns that the Fed may be less likely to step up its bond-buying plans, which some investors had expected after a Wall Street Journal article last week raised the prospect of further bond purchases by the Fed. Investors have driven stock prices higher in recent years as the Fed launched bond purchases to lower interest rates and support the U.S. economy.
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