Market rallies on 2012’s first trading day
Market rallies on 2012’s first trading day
Hoping for something better than 2011’s flat stock market, U.S. investors pushed shares higher on Tuesday to begin the new year, though questions remain about whether a rally can be sustained, Reuters reported.
The broad Standard & Poor’s 500 index closed at its highest level since late October as traders, with cash on hand for the new year, welcomed better-than-expected German and Chinese economic data.
The S&P 500 Index added 19.46 points, or 1.55 percent, to finish at 1,277.06. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 179.82 points, or 1.47 percent, to 12,397.38. The Nasdaq composite gained 43.57 points, or 1.67 percent, to close at 2,648.72.
The upbeat response was reinforced by U.S. economic reports showing that construction spending and factory activity beat economists’ forecasts.
Trading volume was below normal. About 7 billion shares changed hands on the New York Stock Exchange, the Nasdaq and Amex, compared with last year’s daily average of about 7.84 billion shares.
Strategists polled by Reuters in December expect the benchmark S&P 500 index to finish 2012 at 1,340 for a yearly gain of 6.6 percent. That compares with the S&P’s mere 0.003 percent slip in 2011.
Hoping for something better than 2011’s flat stock market, U.S. investors pushed shares higher on Tuesday to begin the new year, though questions remain about whether a rally can be sustained, Reuters reported.
The broad Standard & Poor’s 500 index closed at its highest level since late October as traders, with cash on hand for the new year, welcomed better-than-expected German and Chinese economic data.
The S&P 500 Index added 19.46 points, or 1.55 percent, to finish at 1,277.06. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 179.82 points, or 1.47 percent, to 12,397.38. The Nasdaq composite gained 43.57 points, or 1.67 percent, to close at 2,648.72.
The upbeat response was reinforced by U.S. economic reports showing that construction spending and factory activity beat economists’ forecasts.
Trading volume was below normal. About 7 billion shares changed hands on the New York Stock Exchange, the Nasdaq and Amex, compared with last year’s daily average of about 7.84 billion shares.
Strategists polled by Reuters in December expect the benchmark S&P 500 index to finish 2012 at 1,340 for a yearly gain of 6.6 percent. That compares with the S&P’s mere 0.003 percent slip in 2011.
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