TradingMarkets Mid-Day Movers

December got off to a
flying start with all the major averages opening higher before extending gains
throughout the morning
, boosted by positive economic data. All of the
major market sectors are trading in positive territory.

Last night TradingMarkets.com published new
research on what the month of December is likely to have in store for the
stock market. Our research, titled “Will
December Be Up Or Down?
” showed some interesting results when comparing
all Decembers with those that have followed a market that is up after the first
11-months (as it is this year).

The economic calendar was full again, starting
with the Commerce Department report on Personal Spending and Income. Today’s
numbers showed growth roughly in line with estimates (report).
The Commerce Department also released its report on Construction Spending.
The report showed that construction spending rose 0.7% in
October following a 0.2% increase in September. Economists had been expecting a
more modest increase of 0.4% (report).

The Labor Department reported a drop in Initial
Jobless Claims (report).
The Institute of Supply Management reported growth in the manufacturing sector,
although the pace slowed from October (report).

In Europe, the European Central Bank raised
interest rates for the first time in 5-years. The 25bp move was in line with
expectations and took the benchmark rate to 2.25%.

Treasury Secretary John Snow is also making
comments on the US economy.

The US Dollar Index is trading higher by 0.70%,
Treasuries are slightly lower with traders already looking forward to tomorrow’s
Employment Report. Energy prices are higher, with the exception of Natural Gas.

For reports and analysis go to our
Economic
News
section.

Stocks On The Move

A number of retailers announced November
comparable store sales, among them: Saks
(
SKS |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
(report),
Dollar General
(
DG |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
(report),
Family Dollar Stores
(
FDO |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
(report),
Abercrombie & Fitch
(
ANF |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
(report),
Target
(
TGT |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
(report)
and Wal-Mart
(
WMT |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
(report).
For the list of stores reporting go to our


Breaking
News
section.

In earnings news: Gerber Scientific
(
GRB |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)

reported a narrower loss than last year (report)
and World Wrestling Entertainment
(
WWE |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
reported second-quarter net
income of $11.7 Mln compared to $4.4 million in the prior year quarter (report).



Dow
+100.46 10,906.33

NASDAQ
+29.76 2262.58

S&P 500
+12.61 1262.09
NYSE NASDAQ

Volume
1,192,739,000 986,213,000

Advances
2418 2004

Declines
746 906

Up Volume
847 742

Down Volume
251 179

New Hi’s
159 150

New Lo’s
56 31


Strongest Sectors

Weakest Sectors

Gold Bugs
(
HUI |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
 
Gold and Silver
(
XAU |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
 
Semiconductor
(
SOX |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
 

Economic Recap

ECB Raises Rates 25 Basis Points To 2.25%

Initial Jobless Claims Down 17,000 To 320,000

Personal Spending Up 0.2% In Oct.; Personal
Income Up 0.4%

ISM November Manufacturing Index Falls To 58.1
After 59.1

Ashton Dorkins

ashtond@tradingmarkets.com


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