(Source: Business Week)
U.S. stocks closed marginally higher Wednesday as the market struggled to extend strong gains won Tuesday. Financials climbed further on a report that JPMorgan Chase (JPM) was profitable in the first two months of 2009, echoing Citigroup's (C) profit declaration on Tuesday.
Also scoring more gains were techs, which rose after an analyst upgraded Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) and word or phrase (AAPL) unveiled a new iPod.
There was little reaction to report the Treasury posted a $192.78 billion deficit in February, narrower than the Wall Street forecast of a $230 billion deficit. The market was bracing for Thursday's initial jobless claims and retail sales reports.
On Wednesday, the 30-stock Dow Jones industrial average finished higher by 3.91 points, or 0.06%, at 6,930.40. The broad S&P 500 index was up 1.76 points, or 0.25%, at 721.36. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index added 13.36 points, or 0.98%, to 1,371.64. NYSE breadth was 18-13 positive, while Nasdaq breadth was flat at 13-13. Trading was active.
The dollar index fell. Bonds turned sharply higher. Oil futures declined. Gold futures climbed.
U.S. stocks closed sharply higher Tuesday, with a bank-led rally driving the Dow industrials, S&P 500, and Nasdaq composite indexes up 5.8%, 6.4%, and 7.1%, respectively, on the day. The rally came after Citigroup said it was profitable in the first two months of 2009, and as reports surfaced that U.S. regulators are considering reinstating the uptick rule to slow the pace of short selling.
"One day is not a bull market, but Tuesday's statistics were impressive," wrote Miller Tabak strategist Phil Roth in a note Wednesday. "The first-tier S&P 500 soared 6.4%, with 97% of its components rising [there were just 13 losers], and the second-tier Russell 2000 did even better, gaining 7.1%, with 96% of its components finishing higher."
President Barack Obama signed an omnibus spending bill Wednesday. Obama said that Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner will seek coordinated action at the weekend G-20 finance ministers and central bank governors meeting to make the global financial system solvent. Geithner will hold a briefing Wednesday ahead of the meeting. Also, Neel Kashkari, interim assistant secretary of the Treasury for financial stability, testifies on the Troubled Asset Relief Program [TARP].
The Mortgage Bankers Association said Wednesday that its seasonally adjusted index of mortgage applications, which includes both purchase and refinance loans increased 11.3% to 723.4 in the week ended March 6. Overall mortgage applications last week were 7.7% above their year-ago level. The four-week moving average of mortgage applications, which smooths the volatile weekly figures, was up 4.3%.
The ABC News/Washington Post consumer comfort index rose one point to -48 in the week ended March 8 from -49 a week earlier. The survey said 5% of respondents expressed confidence in the economy, unchanged from the week before.
