Stocks rise on signs of improvement in domestic economy and as initial jobless claims fall
Stocks are rising in early trading following fresh signs that the domestic economy is improving.
New data Thursday shows initial claims for jobless benefits dipped last week, while private employers added workers last month. A third report says productivity rose in the first quarter, though gains were revised lower from a previous estimate.
Retailers are reporting mixed sales for May, but a report on the service sector due out later in the day is expected to show a fifth straight monthly gain.
The Dow Jones industrial average is up 34.99, or 0.3 percent, at 10,283.85. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index is up 2.92, or 0.3 percent, at 1,101.30, while the Nasdaq composite index is up 6.49, or 0.3 percent, at 2,287.56.
Yesterday’s Top Performing Small Cap Stock:
AGR Stone & Tools, Inc. (OTCBB: AGRT)
About AGR Tools, Inc. was a SmallCapVoice.com top performer yesterday closing up over 23% on trading volume of 14,900 shares.
IRVINE, Calif., June 3, 2010 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Wall Street Journal Online (WSJ) last weekend reported on Interphone, the most expensive study conducted to date analyzing the possible tumor risks associated with the use of mobile phones. According to WSJ; “The study may even suggest a link showing that use of a cell phone seems to reduce the potential of two kinds of cancer in particular. Confused yet? The authors of the report were equally confounded at their own results – so much so that they delayed publishing it for six years while they disputed the interpretation of the results.”
Stocks retreat ahead of holiday weekend
Stocks fall modestly to end volatile month of trading; Dow off 7 percent in May
Stocks fell modestly in early trading Friday as investors put a close on a turbulent month of trading.
The dip in major indexes is a stark contrast to the volatile swings that have been prevalent throughout May. Worries about Europe’s debt problems have driven markets sharply lower in May.
The Dow Jones industrial average is down nearly 7 percent for the month, which would be the biggest May drop since 1962.
A mixed report on personal spending and income tempered any momentum that investors might have tried to carry over from a big surge on Thursday. The Dow climbed nearly 285 points Thursday, which was the index’s second best day of the year.
Yesterday’s Top Performing Small Cap Stock:
GWS Technologies, Inc. (OTCBB: GWSC)
GWS Technologies, Inc. was a SmallCapVoice.com top performer yesterday closing up over 17% on trading volume of 66,995 shares.
LAS VEGAS, May 20, 2010 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Aerius International, Inc., (Pink Sheets:AERS) today announced key features had been picked for its new tween phone from a list of features most wanted by tweens, including text messaging, downloading games and ringtones, and sending photos.
Aerius won the Frost & Sullivan North American 2009 Green Technologies Award for other benefits Aerius 3G phones deliver including up to 5 more hours of battery life, 60% fewer dropped calls, longer range, and a 99.4% reduction of handset signal transmissions absorbed by users. For more information see Aerius website, www.goaerius.com.
Stocks are flat after a report showed improvement in the labor market remains tepid
Major indexes had rallied sharply Wednesday as traders returned their focus to the domestic economy as worries about debt problems in Europe began to ease. But Thursday’s unemployment claims report was disappointing.
The Labor Department said that first-time claims for jobless benefits dipped to 444,000 last week from an upwardly revised 448,000 the previous week. Economists had expected claims to drop to 440,000.
While a fourth straight weekly drop in claims is a positive sign, claims have not dropped far enough yet to signal sustainable job growth. Economists estimate weekly initial claims need to fall below 425,000 to show employers are consistently adding new workers.
Claims have stalled around the 450,000 level throughout the year.
High unemployment remains a primary obstacle to a strong recovery. The unemployment rate jumped to 9.9 percent last month, even though employers added 290,000 jobs. Investors will want to see consistent monthly job growth and weekly drops in claims to become more confident that the labor market is significantly improving.
In early morning trading, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 10.89, or 0.1 percent, to 10,907.80. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 0.68, or 0.06 percent, to 1,172.35, while the Nasdaq composite index rose 7.67, or 0.32 percent, to 2,432.69.
Yesterday’s Top Performing Small Cap Stock:
Vidaroo Corporation (OTCBB: VIDA)
Vidaroo Corporation was a SmallCapVoice.com top performer yesterday closing up over 25% on trading volume of 105.064 shares.
Stocks are higher as investors’ focus returned to the improving health of the domestic economy
Stocks rose Wednesday as investors’ focus returned to the improving health of the domestic economy.
A new Commerce Department report showed exports jumped in March to their highest levels since 2008. That bodes well for the manufacturing sector, which has shown consistent improvement in recent months.
Investors had turned their attention for more than a week to Greece’s debt crisis, which threatened to affect other weak European countries and fracture the 16-nation currency union that uses the euro.
European markets rose as volatility eased. Stocks rallied sharply around the world Monday after European leaders agreed to a nearly $1 trillion bailout to help contain the debt problems that spooked markets last week.
Yesterday’s Top Performing Small Cap Stock:
Tie Technologies, Inc. (Pink Sheets: TTCS)
TIE Technologies, Inc was a SmallCapVoice.com top performer yesterday closing up over 40% on trading volume of 5,100 shares.