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03-14-2013, 12:57 PM
http://www.gannett-cdn.com/media/USATODAY/USATODAY/2013/01/29/ap-wall-street-4_3_r536_c534.jpg?1b79b3da202957124496e3768cfb7b67 cdb10c81
Major stock indexes were trading higher Thursday after two economic reports showed the jobs market continues to improve and inflation remains in check. In late afternoon trading, the Standard & Poor's 500 index is about 2 points from its all-time closing high.
The Dow Jones industrial average is up 75 points, 0.5%, to 14,507. The Dow is on track to close higher for the tenth straight day. The Dow hasn't closed higher that many days in a row in more than 16 years. And seven of the Dow's past nine higher closes were record highs.
On Thursday afternoon, the S&P 500 added 8 points, 0.5% to 1,563, edging toward its record closing high of 1,565.15 set on Oct. 9, 2007. If the S&P 500 takes out its old high Thursday, it will have erased the 56.8% it lost during the 2007-2009 bear market.
The run to new highs on Wall Street this year has been driven by the Federal Reserve-engineered low interest-rate environment, an improving economy and retail sales, a rebounding housing market, and more hiring by U.S. companies.
Despite a big run-up at the start of 2013, stocks remain attractive from a price-to-earnings perspective. The market's P-E ratio is 15 based on last year's earnings, which is below the 18.8 average since 1988. Overall, the U.S. stock market has produced paper gains of $11.5 trillion since the March 9, 2009, bear market low, according to Wilshire Associates.
Though it's well below its all-time closing high of 5,048.62 set back in 2000 during the dot-com bubble, the tech-laden Nasdaq composite index continues to rise. On Thursday, the index was 13 points higher, or 0.4%, to 3,258, in late afternoon trading. It's being boosted by rising shares of Apple, which has gone on the offensive against rival Samsung. Apple's main competitor in the tablet and smartphone market unveils its Galaxy S IV smartphone in New York Thursday.
Source: http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/markets/2013/03/14/stocks-thursday-3-14/1986805/
Major stock indexes were trading higher Thursday after two economic reports showed the jobs market continues to improve and inflation remains in check. In late afternoon trading, the Standard & Poor's 500 index is about 2 points from its all-time closing high.
The Dow Jones industrial average is up 75 points, 0.5%, to 14,507. The Dow is on track to close higher for the tenth straight day. The Dow hasn't closed higher that many days in a row in more than 16 years. And seven of the Dow's past nine higher closes were record highs.
On Thursday afternoon, the S&P 500 added 8 points, 0.5% to 1,563, edging toward its record closing high of 1,565.15 set on Oct. 9, 2007. If the S&P 500 takes out its old high Thursday, it will have erased the 56.8% it lost during the 2007-2009 bear market.
The run to new highs on Wall Street this year has been driven by the Federal Reserve-engineered low interest-rate environment, an improving economy and retail sales, a rebounding housing market, and more hiring by U.S. companies.
Despite a big run-up at the start of 2013, stocks remain attractive from a price-to-earnings perspective. The market's P-E ratio is 15 based on last year's earnings, which is below the 18.8 average since 1988. Overall, the U.S. stock market has produced paper gains of $11.5 trillion since the March 9, 2009, bear market low, according to Wilshire Associates.
Though it's well below its all-time closing high of 5,048.62 set back in 2000 during the dot-com bubble, the tech-laden Nasdaq composite index continues to rise. On Thursday, the index was 13 points higher, or 0.4%, to 3,258, in late afternoon trading. It's being boosted by rising shares of Apple, which has gone on the offensive against rival Samsung. Apple's main competitor in the tablet and smartphone market unveils its Galaxy S IV smartphone in New York Thursday.
Source: http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/markets/2013/03/14/stocks-thursday-3-14/1986805/