Text 16300, 104 rader
Skriven 2005-11-23 19:16:00 av Jeff Binkley (1:226/600)
Ärende: Bad news
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More bad news for the hate mongers on the left...

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http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/051123/wall_street_close.html?.v=7

AP
Dow Ends Up 45, Nasdaq Gains 6
Wednesday November 23, 5:58 pm ET 
By Michael J. Martinez, AP Business Writer  
Dow Ends Up 45, Nasdaq Gains 6 on Better Consumer Confidence Numbers, 
Lower Oil Prices 


NEW YORK (AP) -- Better-than-expected consumer confidence numbers and a 
drop in oil prices sent stocks higher Wednesday, extending Wall Street's 
November rally in light pre-holiday trading.
Investors were encouraged by the University of Michigan's consumer 
confidence index, which came in at 81.6, slightly higher than the 81 
reading Wall Street expected. That could bode well as consumers head to 
the malls on Friday for the start of the holiday shopping season.

 
Oil priced dropped after the Energy Department reported substantial 
increases in the nation's fuel stockpiles. A barrel of light crude was 
quoted at $58.71, down 13 cents, on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

"This definitely helps the continuation of the rally," said Peter 
Cardillo, chief strategist and senior vice president at S.W. Bach & Co. 
"From here, I see the continuation of this rally through the end of the 
year."

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 44.66, or 0.41 percent, to 
10,916.09.

Broader stock indicators also rose. The Standard & Poor's 500 index 
added 4.38, or 0.35 percent, to 1,265.61, and the Nasdaq composite index 
gained 6.42, or 0.28 percent, to 2,259.98.

Bonds edged lower, with the yield on the 10-year Treasury note rising to 
4.47 percent from 4.43 percent late Tuesday. The dollar was mixed 
against other foreign currencies, while gold prices fell.

Not all the economic news was good. A larger-than-expected increase in 
first-time jobless claims, which rose by 30,000 to 335,000 last week, 
had investors concerned that the labor market was still struggling to 
recover from disruptions caused by the Gulf Coast hurricanes.

The number of people who are continuing to collect unemployment claims 
remains high, at 2.82 million, a sign that workers laid off due to 
hurricanes are not easily finding jobs.

The day's trading was unlikely to be significant to the overall market 
in the coming weeks, as most investors were already in vacation mode. 
Volume is traditionally very light during the Thanksgiving holiday week; 
the markets will be closed Thursday and trade in a shortened session 
Friday.

"This is the time of the year that the market, historically, goes up," 
said Barry Berman, head trader for Robert W. Baird & Co. in Milwaukee. 
"There's a sense that that rally has started and people are jumping on 
board."

Sovereign Bancorp Inc. fell 49 cents to $22.17 after restructuring its 
$2.4 billion deal with Banco Santander Central Hispano SA to sell a 
stake to the Spanish banking firm. The New York Stock Exchange said the 
deal no longer requires shareholder approval to move forward. Banco 
Santander's American depositary receipts added 7 cents to $12.91.

Meat processor Hormel Foods Corp.'s fourth-quarter earnings rose 17 
percent due to a strong turkey market and improved production. But the 
maker of Spam said the outlook for the second half of 2006 is unclear 
and Merrill Lynch cut its rating on the company, saying it will be 
difficult for next year's results to beat 2005. Hormel fell $2.28 to 
$32.74.

Research in Motion Ltd., maker of the Blackberry mobile e-mail device, 
tumbled 80 cents to $66.28 after it cut its third- and fourth-quarter 
subscriber forecasts due to delayed product launches. The company 
reaffirmed its third-quarter profit forecasts, however.

Procter & Gamble Co. fell 13 cents to $57.01 after it disclosed that 
third-quarter earnings fell at two business units it acquired from 
Gillette. Procter & Gamble closed its acquisition of Gillette on Oct. 1 
and its results were not included in P&G's most recent quarterly report 
because the reporting period ended Sept. 30. However, the Cincinnati-
based company provided some details of Gillette's third-quarter 
performance in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission late 
Tuesday.

Advancing issues led decliners by roughly 9 to 7 on the NYSE, where 
preliminary consolidated volume came to 1.97 billion shares, down from 
2.28 billion traded Tuesday.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 0.59, or 0.09 percent, 
to 683.14.

Overseas, Japan's stock markets were closed for a national holiday. 
Britain's FTSE 100 rose 0.26 percent, Germany's DAX index added 0.41 
percent, and France's CAC-40 rose 0.61 percent.


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