Holiday Cheer as Stocks Rise the Most in 2-Weeks
Stocks gained the most in two weeks, with strength coming from the technology and financial sectors. Research in Motion gave a boost to tech stocks, after the company reported much better than expected earnings yesterday. Meanwhile, Merrill Lynch appeared to be the latest U.S. bank to receive a capital infusion from an sovereign wealth fund.
The Federal Reserve and European Central Bank pumped another $30 billion into the money markets today as part of their ongoing efforts to ease the credit crunch. While the almost daily operations are designed to provide liquidity and prevent a collapse of the banking system, the amount of capital required, and its frequency, continues to worry investors.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Merrill Lynch
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PowerRating) may receive a $5 billion cash infusion from Singapore state-owned investment company Temasek Holdings (read more).
Shares of Research in Motion
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PowerRating) rose more than 10%, helped by a number of analyst upgrades that were issued after the company reported impressive results (read more).
Respironics
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PowerRating) gained nearly 23% after the company agreed to be acquired by Royal Philips Electronics
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PowerRating) for $5.1 billion in cash (read more).
Circuit City Stores
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PowerRating) lost nearly 28% after reporting a wider than anticipated loss for the third quarter (read more).
Despite today’s broad market gains, Washington Mutual
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PowerRating) fell to an 11-year low after the SEC launched an investigation into how the company handled and reported on mortgage loans that may have been based on inflated home appraisals (read more).
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