pursche

Stocks ended moderately higher on Wall Street on Tuesday, regaining much of Monday’s losses.

The Standard Poor’s 500-stock index rose 0.5 percent, the Dow Jones industrial average added 0.6 percent and the Nasdaq composite index rose 0.5 percent.

The benchmark S.P. 500 last week set a new closing high, but has thus far been unable to reach its intraday record of 1,576.09 points, an important psychological level for investors. It closed at 1,570.25 Tuesday.

While moves may be limited this week leading up to the release on Friday of the American unemployment report for March, investors will be looking to the latest economic data for signs of economic strength last month.

“We’ve had significant pockets of strength in the data, but also some weakness,” said Oliver Pursche, president of Gary Goldberg Financial Services in Suffern, N.Y. “If we can see some broad-based expansion of growth, that would be very beneficial for markets.”

A weak reading on American manufacturing sparked a decline in Monday’s session, though other indicators have pointed to a strengthening economy and helped push both the Dow and S.P. to record highs last week.

European shares bounced back after a two-week slide as merger-and-acquisition activity helped lift sentiment.

The S.P. is up 10 percent so far this year, while the Dow is up nearly 12 percent. While investors view market momentum as positive, many are also calling for a pullback, given the size and swiftness of recent gains.

“We take money off the table on days when we see rallies of about 1 percent,” Mr. Pursche said. “We think things are getting overstretched.”

Hewlett-Packard slumped 5.3 percent to $22.08, after Goldman Sachs downgraded the Dow component, saying it expected the company’s earnings power to come under pressure. Goldman has a $16 price target on the stock, which implies downside of more than 30 percent from H.P.’s Monday closing price.

BGC Partners late Monday said it would sell its eSpeed platform to Nasdaq OMX Group for $750 million in cash. Shares of BGC soared 47 percent.

Article source: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/03/business/daily-stock-market-activity.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

Shares Lean Higher in Early Trading

Shares on Wall Street rose modestly on Tuesday as investors speculated that negotiations between Democrats and Republicans would lead to a budget deal.

The market’s gains followed a steep rally in the previous session, which lifted the Standard Poor’s 500-stock index to its highest level in nearly two months.

Speaker John A. Boehner said he hoped for a broader deal on the budget talks and was still talking with President Obama about the issue.

President Obama made a counteroffer to Republicans on Monday that included a major change in position on tax increases for the wealthy. The plan would increase tax rates on households making more than $400,000 a year, instead of the $250,000 level that he had long pushed.

Investors have been reluctant to make big bets in the face of uncertainty over the standoff in Washington. If no deal is reached among the president and lawmakers, a combination of steep tax increases and spending cuts are set to take effect next year that could hurt the country’s economy.

“Neither side appears to be digging in their heels so much, and that increases the optimism there might be a deal,” said Oliver Pursche, president of Gary Goldberg Financial Services in Suffern, N.Y. “Political risks have been the main thing suppressing market gains, so if those abate, we could see a rally that is significant.”

In morning trading, the Standard Poor’s 500-stock index rose 0.5 percent. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 0.3 percent, and the Nasdaq composite was up 0.7 percent percent.

“We’ve been getting a series of snippets suggesting accommodation from both Boehner and Obama, which is feeding the sense in markets that we could get a deal,” said Michael Holland, chairman of Holland Company in New York.

European shares rose 0.3 percent on Monday, while January crude oil futures were up 0.6 percent.

Arbitron, the media and marketing research company, surged about 24 percent after Nielsen Holdings agreed to buy it in a deal worth $1.26 billion. Nielsen rose more than 1 percent.

Oracle reports results after the market closes. The company is expected to report profit growth of more than 10 percent, but with a 2.3 percent dip in revenue, according to Thomson Reuters data.

Article source: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/19/business/daily-stock-market-activity.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

Wall Street Regains Momentum

Shares Lean Higher in Early Trading

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