Stocks looking optimistic after first trading day of 2009

January 2, 2009 – 10:15 pm – No Comment

Even after a report about manufacturing being the lowest its been in 28 years, Wall Street enjoyed a nice rally today.

The Dow rose 258.30, or 2.94 percent, to 9,034.69, finishing the week up 6.1 percent. The blue chips last closed above 9,000 on Nov. 5, when they stood at 9,139.27.

The Dow, the oldest of the big market indexes, fell 33.8 percent in 2008, its worst performance since 1931, during the Great Depression.

Like the Dow, broader stock indicators also advanced for the third straight session. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 28.55 percent, or 3.16 percent, to 931.80, its highest close since Nov. 5. The Nasdaq composite index rose 55.18, or 3.50 percent, to 1,632.21.

For the week, the S&P 500 finished up 6.8 percent, while the Nasdaq rose 6.7 percent.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 6.39, or 1.28 percent, to 505.84. -AP

Perhaps the market is finding a bottom. I won’t judge anything because there were plenty of early predictions about 2008 that were horribly wrong. I won’t speculate, just enjoy a rally.

Source