Nasdaq Futures

It was a fantastic week for markets overall, as news that the U.S. economy added more jobs than expected in January and lessened fears about financial catastrophe in Europe helped push the Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEX: ^DJI  ) to its highest close since May 2008. Not to be outdone, the Nasdaq (INDEX: ^IXIC  ) closed at its highest level in more than a decade, spurred by strong gains from technology stocks.

The winners
While the three major indices clearly had a great week, some individual Dow companies fared even better. Bank of America (NYSE: BAC  ) continued its remarkable run in 2012, finishing up 7.5% on the week. The company is now up more than 41% in just this year alone. Bank of America was one of the primary beneficiaries of the positive jobs report released Friday morning, which showed that the unemployment rate fell from 8.5% to 8.3%, a three-year low.

American Express was the Dow’s second biggest gainer of the week, up 4.8%. The company has now advanced by a solid 10.8% in just over a month in 2012. United Technologies (NYSE: UTX  ) was the week’s third biggest gainer, finishing up 4.4%. The aerospace and defense conglomerate reported solid earnings last week, with profit jumping 10.8% in its fourth quarter. United Technologies was also pushed up by stellar earnings from Goodrich, the company that agreed to be acquired by United Technologies last year.

Outside the Dow, there were some even bigger winners. Zynga (Nasdaq: ZNGA  ) finished the week up an incredible 40.6%, in large part because of Facebook’s IPO filing on Wednesday. Facebook relies on Zynga, the maker of popular games such as Farmville and Words With Friends, for a whopping 12% of its revenue.

While these companies had a phenomenal week, our chief investment officer has picked out one company that he believes will have a phenomenal full year in 2012. This company has so much promise that we’ve dubbed it “The Motley Fool’s Top Stock for 2012.” It highlights a company that is revolutionizing commerce in Latin America. You can get instant access to the name of this company for free.

Today was a mixed day overall for the markets, with two of the three major indices ending the day in the black. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEX: ^DJI  ) led the charge, closing up 0.76%. The S&P 500 closed essentially flat, up 0.07%, while the Nasdaq (INDEX: ^IXIC  ) finished slightly in the red, as disappointing earnings from Google helped drag it down 0.06%.

The Winners
But while the major indices as a whole didn’t see huge moves today, three technology companies on the Dow posted some tremendous gains. Microsoft (NYSE: MSFT  ) was the Dow’s biggest gainer today, skyrocketing 5.65%. The company beat analyst expectations on both revenue and earnings in its fiscal second quarter. Strong revenues from Microsoft’s Office software and Xbox divisions helped the company overcome weak personal-computer orders. 

IBM (NYSE: IBM  ) was the second-biggest winner on the day, surging 4.43%. The company also reported impressive earnings that beat analyst expectations. Operating profits per share increased by 11% as the company finished a record year for revenue and earnings per share. IBM’s stock swung from negative to positive on the year after today’s big gain.

The third-biggest Dow winner was Hewlett Packard (NYSE: HPQ  ) , which ended the day up 3.61%. HP rode the tech wave higher on the day, and the company is now up over 9% on the year after a dismal 2011.

While Microsoft, IBM, and HPQ all surged today, our Chief Investment Officer has picked out one stock that he believes will crush the market for all of 2012. To see this company, check out our brand new report, “The Motley Fool’s Top Stock for 2012.” You can get instant access to the name and analysis of this company by clicking here — it’s absolutely free.

For the third straight week, the market is up. The Dow (INDEX: ^DJI  ) rose 2.4% while the broader S&P 500 (INDEX: ^GSPC  ) and Nasdaq (INDEX: ^IXIC  ) rose 2.0% and 2.8%.

And now that earnings season is in full swing, we can point to actual company actions for driving the stock market rather than vague musings on Europe, unemployment, or “the January Effect.”

All 30 stocks in the Dow were up this week, but tech and banking dominated. The top seven gainers were in those two sectors:

Of these, Bank of America, IBM, Microsoft, and Intel all reported this week – on Thursday, to be precise. Click on the links to get the rundowns.

In banking, generally favorable reports from Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, and Morgan Stanley  gave hope to a beaten-down sector. Keep in mind that these reports weren’t especially strong on an absolute basis. Rather, any decent news in banking sends shares skyward because expectations are so low. Nowhere is this more true than Bank of America. Hence its Dow-leading position this week.

Meanwhile, in tech, the company-specific good news at IBM, Microsoft, and Intel drowned out the market’s poor reaction to non-Dow techie Google‘s earnings (Google was down 6.2% this week). We see that in Hewlett-Packard, whose business model is more tied to the fates of IBM, Microsoft, and Intel than it is to Google. 

It’s fun to look at the weekly (and daily … and hourly) market news, but remember to keep your perspective and invest for the long term (years and decades). If you’re looking for a long-term stock pick, our chief investment officer has identified his No. 1 stock for the next year. Find out which stock he likes in our brand-new report: “The Motley Fool’s Top Stock for 2012.” I invite you to take a copy, free for a limited time. Just click here to access the report and find out the name of this legendary company.

Today was a positive day for the market, with all three major indices closing in the black. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEX: ^DJI  ) spiked at the opening bell and maintained its advance, finishing up 0.78%. The S&P 500 closed up 1.11% while the Nasdaq (INDEX: ^IXIC  ) led the charge, gaining 1.53%.

The losers
But while the vast majority of the Dow’s 30 companies were positive on the day, there were three that finished the day in the red. Boeing (NYSE: BA  ) was the biggest Dow loser, ending down 0.24%. The company declined today despite an acknowledgement by rival Airbus that Boeing could deliver more planes in 2012, which would be the first time since 2003 that Boeing out-delivered Airbus.

One of the other Dow losers on the day was Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT  ) , which finished down 0.09%. Microsoft reports earnings tomorrow and will hope to keep its momentum going in 2012, as the stock has gained nearly 9% so far this year. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters are expecting the company to post earnings per share of $0.76 for its fiscal second quarter, which would be one cent lower than last year’s Q2 earnings. Tomorrow is a huge day for technology companies overall, with Google, Intel, and IBM reporting as well.

The final Dow loser was Verizon (NYSE: VZ  ) , ending the day down just 0.03%. Verizon is one of the five Dow stocks that has declined this year. The stock is down nearly 3% so far in 2012. 

While Boeing, Microsoft, and Verizon all lost to the market today, our chief investment officer has picked out one stock that he believes will crush the market in 2012. To see this company, check out our brand new free report, “The Motley Fool’s Top Stock for 2012.” It highlights a company that is revolutionizing commerce in Latin America. You can get instant access to the name of this company for free.

The Dow Jones (INDEX: ^DJI  ) rode a strong start on Tuesday (the market was closed Monday) to close up 1.2% for the week (12,359.92).

The S&P 500 (INDEX: ^GSPC  ) and Nasdaq (INDEX: ^IXIC  ) followed suit, rising 1.6% and 2.7% each.

It was a week marked by low trading activity and no major news. There was some favorable economic data coming from retail, housing, and employment and continued anxiousness over the state of Europe’s economy and tensions in the Middle East. The usual.

Looking at the individual Dow components, 22 out of the 30 stocks rose for the week. After ending 2011 as the worst-performing Dow stock, Bank of America came out roaring with an 11.2% increase for the week. It was followed by Microsoft [8.3%], Disney [6.4%], and JPMorgan Chase [6.3%]. The banking sector was buoyed Thursday by rumors of a big mortgage-refinancing program. The White House squelched the rumors later in the day, yet the gains mostly remain.

The biggest losers of the week were the telecom big boys, Verizon (NYSE: VZ  ) [-4.5%] and AT&T (NYSE: T  ) [-1.9%], as Verizon’s CFO revealed the extent of the Apple iPhone’s margin hit to the wireless business — 500 to 600 basis points. Apple’s market power is truly a marvel.

It’s fun to look at the weekly (and daily … and hourly) market news, but remember to keep your perspective and invest for the long term (years and decades). If you’re looking for a long-term stock pick, our chief investment officer has identified his No. 1 stock for the next year. Find out which stock he likes in our brand-new free report: “The Motley Fool’s Top Stock for 2012.” I invite you to take a copy, free for a limited time. Get access to the report and find out the name of this legendary company.