January 2015

By Chuck Mikolajczak NEW YORK (Reuters) – U.S. stocks lost ground on Monday, extending a two-week decline for equities, as weakness in oil prices weighed on the energy sector ahead of the start of corporate earnings season. Oil prices continued their downward march and were a drag on equities. Brent <LCOc1> was down more than Read More

By Chuck Mikolajczak NEW YORK (Reuters) – U.S. stocks fell on Monday, extending a two-week decline for equities, as weakness in oil prices weighed on the energy sector ahead of the start of corporate earnings season. Oil prices continued their downward march and weighed on equities, with both Brent (LCOc1) and U.S. crude (CLc1) down Read More

NEW YORK (Reuters) – U.S. stocks opened modestly higher on Monday, after a two-week decline pushed the S&P 500 back into negative territory for the year, as investors anticipated the start of the corporate earnings season. The Dow Jones industrial average (.DJI) rose 44.76 points, or 0.25 percent, to 17,782.13, the S&P 500 (.SPX) gained Read More

By Wayne Cole SYDNEY (Reuters) – The U.S. dollar took an early dip on Monday as Asian investors caught up with a benign payrolls report and the subsequent slide in Treasury yields, though turnover was light with Tokyo on holiday. Share markets were opening lower following a soft finish on Wall Street though sentiment was Read More

By Herbert Lash NEW YORK (Reuters) – The dollar eased on Friday after a U.S. labor market report suggested a go-slow approach to raising interest rates, while global equity markets fell on more weak data from Europe, adding to worries about tepid growth around the world. Crude oil slipped under $ 50 a barrel as Read More

By Chuck Mikolajczak NEW YORK (Reuters) – U.S. stocks slumped on Friday, with each of the major indexes down more than 1 percent in the wake of a two-day rally as investors assessed a monthly payrolls report that gave mixed signals on the economy. Nonfarm payrolls rose in December, topping Wall Street expectations while November’s Read More

By Chuck Mikolajczak NEW YORK (Reuters) – U.S. stocks edged lower on Friday, after a two-day rally in equities put the S&P 500 back in positive territory for the new year as investors assessed a stronger-than-expected monthly payrolls report. Nonfarm payrolls increased 252,000 in December, topping expectations for a rise of 240,000, while November’s outsized Read More

Zoom, baby! US stocks burst out of the gates yesterday and never looked back. The S&P 500 (^GSPC), Dow (^DJI) and NASDAQ (^IXIC) all rose 1.8%. We are now positive for the year though still within the gravitational pull zone of resistance at 2050. And we’re slightly below record highs made December 29th. I hope Read More

U.S. stocks surged for a second day on Thursday, with the Dow turning higher for the year, as the price of oil steadied and on thinking the Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank would buttress the global economy. The CBOE Volatility Index (^VIX), a measure of investor uncertainty, fell 12 percent to 17.09. Comments Read More

By Herbert Lash LONDON (Reuters) – Global equity markets surged and the dollar hit a nine-year high on Thursday, lifted by the Federal Reserve’s confidence in the U.S. economy and hopes of aggressive new stimulus in Europe. Stocks on Wall Street rose about 1.7 percent and in Europe equities jumped close to 3 percent as Read More