Stocks Surge on Retail Sales Reports
The S&P 500 rose 28.94, or 1.91 percent, to 1,547.70, above its record close of 1,539.18, set June 4.
The Dow shot up 283.86, or 2.09 percent, to 13,861.73; its previous record close, which also came June 4, was 13,676.32. Thursday's jump was the biggest one-day percentage gain for the blue chip index since October 2003 and the biggest single-session point gain since October 2002. The Dow also reached a new trading high of 13,869.94 and saw its 50th record close since the start of October.
The Nasdaq composite index rose 49.94, or 1.88 percent, to 2,701.73; the rise Thursday marked the biggest one-day percentage increase since March. The last time the Nasdaq closed at such levels was in February 2001. Still, the index, bloated by the late 1990s tech boom, is nowhere near its closing record of 5,048.62, set in March 2000.
"The kind of disaster situation that everybody was preparing for doesn't seem to be playing out."
"It tends to bounce back and forth, but over all the market is grinding higher. How much higher remains to be seen."
In other economic news
Federal deficit down, June posts surplus
The Bush administration this week announced a new deficit projection for this year of $205 billion, down significantly from the $244 billion deficit it forecast in February, reflecting the fact that revenue growth has continued to come in at higher-than-expected levels.
Jobless claims fell 12,000 in latest week
The number of U.S. workers signing up for first-time jobless benefits fell to a seasonally adjusted 308,000 last week, slightly lower than expected, a government report on Thursday showed.
The S&P 500 rose 28.94, or 1.91 percent, to 1,547.70, above its record close of 1,539.18, set June 4.
The Dow shot up 283.86, or 2.09 percent, to 13,861.73; its previous record close, which also came June 4, was 13,676.32. Thursday's jump was the biggest one-day percentage gain for the blue chip index since October 2003 and the biggest single-session point gain since October 2002. The Dow also reached a new trading high of 13,869.94 and saw its 50th record close since the start of October.
The Nasdaq composite index rose 49.94, or 1.88 percent, to 2,701.73; the rise Thursday marked the biggest one-day percentage increase since March. The last time the Nasdaq closed at such levels was in February 2001. Still, the index, bloated by the late 1990s tech boom, is nowhere near its closing record of 5,048.62, set in March 2000.
"The kind of disaster situation that everybody was preparing for doesn't seem to be playing out."
"It tends to bounce back and forth, but over all the market is grinding higher. How much higher remains to be seen."
In other economic news
Federal deficit down, June posts surplus
The Bush administration this week announced a new deficit projection for this year of $205 billion, down significantly from the $244 billion deficit it forecast in February, reflecting the fact that revenue growth has continued to come in at higher-than-expected levels.
Jobless claims fell 12,000 in latest week
The number of U.S. workers signing up for first-time jobless benefits fell to a seasonally adjusted 308,000 last week, slightly lower than expected, a government report on Thursday showed.
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