Stock Market News for October 11, 2010 - Market News

Expectations that the policy makers will act to keep the economy afloat helped investors brush aside some gloomy economic posts and send the Dow average above 11,000 for the first time since May 3.

Even as unemployment rate remained at a grueling 9.6%, the latest jobs report said the economy lost a surprisingly high 95,000 jobs in September – fueling hopes the Federal Reserve will pump in more money into the economy to resurrect the unstable economic growth.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 11006.48, up 57.90 points, or 0.5%. The blue-chip index is up 5.6% year-to-date. On Friday, the broader S&P 500 index gained nearly 8 points, or 0.6%, 1165.15. The Nasdaq Composite index gained 18 points, or 0.8%, to 2401.91. On the New York Stock Exchange, advancing shares outpaced declining issues by a three-to-two margin as volume dipped to 945 million shares.

This morning’s stock futures suggest a slightly higher opening as traders grow hopeful the Fed will initiate quantitative easing measures. Ahead of the opening bell, Dow futures are up 21 points, or 0.2%, at 10,968 while the broader Standard & Poor’s 500 futures rose 2.9 points, or 0.3%, to 1,163.50.

Hopes of a Fed intervention sent Treasury prices lower. The yield on the 10-year note dropped to 2.38% from 2.61% at the week’s start. The dollar fell against the Japanese yen and the British pound. It was unchanged against the yen. The drop in greenback sent commodity shares higher.

Alcoa (NYSE:AA), which reported better-than-expected earnings late Thursday, led the Dow average higher with a gain of 5.7%. The company also raised its forecast for global aluminum consumption. Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) rose 2.1%.

This week sees results from such heavyweights as Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) on Tuesday, with CSX (NYSE:CSX) and Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) numbers also due. On Wednesday JP Morgan (NYSE:JPM) kicks off financial sectors’ results, with numbers due from Host Hotels and Resorts (NYSE:HST), and Apollo Group (NASDAQ:APOL). Thursday sees a number of big technology names reporting their numbers, including Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) and Advanced Micro Devices (NYSE:AMD), as well as numbers from food and drug retailer, Safeway (NYSE:SWY). On Friday, General Electric (NYSE:GE) reports with First Horizon Financial (NYSE:FHN) and Mattel (NASDAQ:MAT) also slated.

Basic material shares led the S&P500’s list of industry sectors with a 3.7% weekly surge. Gold prices continued higher, up 1.3% last week to $1,345.30, offering a safety port in the current currency storm.

Stock Market News for October 11, 2010 – Market News

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