| http://moneycentral.msn.com/content...ches/P68924.asp
Dow is back above 10,000
Good reports on retailing, a big Home Depot stock buyback and stronger profit growth push stocks back above key level for first time in 18 months.
With a shot in the arm from a home-improvement giant, the Dow Jones Industrials finally made a push through 10,000 and stayed there. It was the blue chip average's first close above 10,000 since May 24, 2002.
The gain was more than 86 points, and the rally spread across the entire stock market. The Nasdaq Composite jumped an impressive 37 points; the Standard & Poor's 500 was up 12 points.
Pushing the markets higher were government reports of stronger retail sales in November and minutes from the Oct. 28 meeting of the Federal Reserve Open Market Committee.
The meeting minutes indicated to some investors that the central bank may hold interest rates steady next year. The reason: it doesn’t see a lot of job growth next year. Economic growth “would not entirely eliminate currently large margins of unemployed labor and other resources until perhaps the later part of 2005 or even later,” the minutes said.Money 2004.
Smarter, faster and easier
than ever.
In addition, Home Depot (HD, news, msgs) reversed a slump over the past several days, jumping more than 4.1% today. It started December near $37 per share and traded below $32 yesterday.
Who's buying Home Depot? Well, Home Depot, for one. The company announced this morning it had completed a $1 billion share repurchase program and will buy $1 billion more. Home Depot also bought $2 billion worth of its shares last year. | |
