More good economic news helped stocks rebound Wednesday from a one-day setback, giving the market new momentum as it reaches the Thanksgiving holiday trading break.
The Dow Jones gained 256, or 3.0%, to close at 8932.8 while the Nasdaq rose 44.3, or 3.1%, to 1488.7. The S&P 500 advanced 27, or 3.0%, to 940.
Despite stumbling Tuesday, Wall Street has ridden seven weeks of gains, thus offering investors hope that the stock market has bottomed out more than 2-1/2 years after the Internet bubble burst.
Certainly recent economic news has fueled optimism about a recovery. Earlier this week it was higher home sales and a better-than-expected quarterly GDP. On Wednesday it was:
- A U.S. Commerce Department report showed that personal consumption increased 0.4% in October after falling 0.4% in September.
- Commerce Department figures for “big-ticket” items — home appliances, cars, etc. — show orders increasing in October, ending a two-month decline.
- The U.S. Labor Department reported that initial jobless claims last week dropped to their lowest level in nearly two years.
Nearly all tech stocks gained Wednesday. Among the top advancers was customer management software vendor Portal Software, which announced late Tuesday that it had won a contract with TransTeleCom, Russia’s top provider of broadband communications services. Shares of PRSF gained 19 cents, or 19%, to 1.19.
Access management software provider Netegrityfinished up 56 cents, or 19.2%, to 3.47.
Server vendor Sun Microsystemsgained 21 cents, or 5.6%, to 3.97 after announcing that it would meet Q2 revenue goals.
Firewall vendor Check Point Software Technologiesrose 82 cents, or 5.1%, to 17.02 after renewing software partnership deals with IBM and Siemens.
Financial markets will close Thursday for the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday. There will be a half-day of trading on Friday.
Note: There will be no Market Close on Friday, Nov. 29. Market Close will return on Monday, Dec. 2. We wish you all a happy Holiday.