| Economic Data Fuel A Rally On Wall Street |
| Nov-01-2012 |
| Keywords: manufacturing, consumer confidence, jobs, stocks, rally |
Wall Street investors quickly put October's dismal performance behind them, driving stocks higher following an avalanche of better than expected economic reports.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average soared 136 points. The tech heavy Nasdaq Composite jumped 43 points. The S&P 500 climbed 15 points higher on the day.
The stock market today got an initial charge out of better than expected news on jobs. The ADP National Employment Report showed the U.S. private sector added 158,000 jobs in October, topping estimates of 135,000. The Labor Department said new claims for unemployment benefits unexpectedly fell to 363,000 last week from an upwardly revised 372,000 in the week prior.
The Conference Board's index of U.S. consumer confidence jumped to 72.2 in October, reaching the highest level in more than 4 ½ years.
The Institute for Supply Management Manufacturing PMI gauge rose to 51.7 in October from 51.5 in September, the highest reading since May.
The only real disappointment came from Challenger, Gray & Christmas. Planned job cuts by U.S. firms soared 41% to 47,724 to a five-month high in October from September.
Separate reports, indicating a bottoming of China's slumping manufacturing activity also fueled optimism on Wall Street.
In corporate news, a number of companies posted better than expected earnings, despite struggling through a slow sales season.
Exxon Mobil's shares rose .47% after posting quarterly earning of $2.09 a share, topping estimates of $1.95. The energy company's sales of $115.7 billion beat estimates of $112.4 billion.
Pfizer's adjusted third-quarter profit of 53 cents a share topped estimates by a penny. However, the drug maker's sales of $14 billion missed forecasts, which contributed to a 1.3% drop in the drug maker's stock price.
Ford Motor says Alan Mulally is planning to remain at the helm of the company until at least 2014. That followed by news Ford's October U.S. auto sales inched up 0.4 percent, far short of the predicted 3.5 percent increase. Nonetheless, shares of Ford ended the trading session up .8% on the day. General Motor's stock gained .71% on news its auto sales rose 4.7% in October on strong Buick and Cadillac sales. Chrysler 's sales rose 10% in October as the Dodge brand posted a double-digit-percentage increase.
Today's economic headlines and a decline in crude oil inventories drove crude prices higher. The Energy Department reported crude stockpiles last week dropped by 2 million barrels. The market was expected to see an increase of 2-million. That surprise drop helped push crude prices up 82-cents, settling at $87.09 a barrel. |
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Posted by Lou Dobbs Staff at 1:00 PM Email to a friend |
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