Pakistanis angry over detentions in Times Sq. case Monday, May 24, 2010
ISLAMABAD – Relatives of three men detained by Pakistan for alleged links to the suspect in the attempted Times Square bombing say the men are innocent.
They
AFP - Thursday, August 6TAIPEI (AFP) - - Taiwan's Beijing-friendly government on Wednesday denied boycotting an Australian film festival amid a row over the e
BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a double blow on Thursday as a senior party ally in east German
Minister seeks closure of anti-Berlusconi websites Wednesday, December 16, 2009
ROME (AFP) - – The Italian government moved Tuesday to close down Internet sites encouraging further violence against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who
By ELAINE KURTENBACH,AP Business Writer AP - Wednesday, March 18SHANGHAI - Asia's stock market rally seemed to be running out of steam Wednesday, despite an
Navigation
Primary Navigation
Home
Singapore
Asia Pacific
World
Business
Entertainment
Sports
Technology
Secondary Navigation
Top Stories
Full Coverage
Most Popular
Photos
Search
Search:
Powerful rally lifts Dow 10.88 percent
AFP - Wednesday, October 29
NEW YORK (AFP) - - A frenzied buying spree sent US shares soaring Tuesday with the second-largest point gain in history for blue chips amid hopes for a rate cut and easing of a global credit crunch.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rocketed 889.35 points (10.88 percent) to finish at 9,065.12. The gain was eclipsed only by a 936-point advance on October 13, and was the sixth largest in percentage terms for the blue-chip Dow.
The Nasdaq jumped 143.57 points (9.53 percent) to 1,649.47 and the broad-market Standard & Poor's 500 index leapt 91.59 points (10.79 percent) to 940.51.
The surge came amid a strong rebound in global markets but a huge acceleration at the end of the session took market participants by surprise.
"There does not appear to be a specific news item to account for the surge," analysts at Briefing.com said, adding that the gains were "compounded by short-covering."
A so-called "short squeeze" occurs when traders with short positions, betting on falling stocks, are forced to buy to avert heavy losses. A similar short-covering rally pushed up Germany's DAX by 11 percent Tuesday with many traders caught short on Volkswagen shares.
The market action came as the US Federal Reserve opened a two-day meeting expected to deliver a cut in the federal funds rate aimed at stimulating flagging growth and easing the credit crisis. Some analysts also expect the US cut to be followed by reductions by other central banks.
Augustine Faucher at Moody's Economy.com predicted a half-point cut on Wednesday followed by another half-point reduction in December to lower the funds rate to 0.5 percent, which would be the lowest level since the rate began in 1954.
"Further rate cuts would make it very inexpensive for banks to borrow from one another. The Fed is hoping that low rates, along with efforts to increase liquidity, will spur greater lending and borrowing, unfreezing credit markets."
He said that the combination of Fed interest rate cuts, increased liquidity, and fiscal stimulus "will be enough to bring the economy out of recession in the second quarter of next year" but added that "the financial system remains on edge and worries about global recession continue to increase."
Others noted that bargain hunting had been expected after brutal declines of 40 percent or more this year.
"If you have been standing over by the punch bowl, it looks to me like it's time to ask someone to dance," said John Wilson at Morgan Keegan ahead of the opening.
"Taken in toto, the indicators we monitor are at levels that in the past have pointed to a good rally, if not a major turn."
The market was able to shake off a shockingly weak report on consumer confidence.
The Conference Board index on consumer confidence plummeted to a record low of 38.0, down from 61.4 in September, signaling more retrenchment by consumers.
"The collapse in confidence is directly tied to perceptions about economic conditions and that is likely to mean that households will keep their wallets closed," said Joel Naroff at Naroff Economic Advisors.
Among stocks in focus, Boeing jumped 15.46 percent to 48.91 dollars after the aerospace giant said it had reached agreement to end a seven-week-old strike with machinists that has paralyzed the group's civil aviation operations since early September.
General Motors rallied 14.68 percent to 6.25 dollars amid reports the auto sector was near a deal to get US government loans that could facilitate a merger with Chrysler. Ford advanced 5.9 percent to 2.15 dollars.
Wal-Mart gained 11.07 percent to 55.17 dollars after the world's biggest retail group announce more modest expansion plans in the face of a tougher economic climate.
Bonds fell as investors shifted to equities. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury bond increased to 3.820 percent from 3.729 percent Monday and that on the 30-year bond rose to 4.172 percent from 4.105 percent. Bond yields and prices move in opposite directions.
Email Story
IM Story
Printable View
Blog This
Recommend this article
Average (0 votes)
Sign in to recommend this article »
Most Recommended Stories »
Most Popular – Top Stories
Viewed
When men see red, they see hot: study
World's fattest man weds friend's widow
Desperate pleas end in despair as starlet's nephew found dead
Markets rebound ahead of key US meeting
Australian central bank intervenes as dollar falls again
View Complete List »
Search:
Home
Singapore
Asia Pacific
World
Business
Entertainment
Sports
Technology