Spring is just around the corner and as we begin cleaning up our homes and adding a fresh coat of paint to our walls, there are stocks that could benefit. Nikhil Hutheesing and Dan Burrows face-off on three springtime stocks: Sherwin Williams, Toro and Home Depot. Watch the video for the bull and bear cases.
After a rough opening session on Monday, stocks rebounded sharply on Tuesday. The Dow enjoyed a triple-digit gain after oil prices eased and bank shares bounced higher on the possibility of further dividend payouts and share buybacks.
Increasing violence in Libya caused oil prices to rise and stocks to fall 80 points to close at 12,090 on Monday. It didn't help that a Wells Fargo analyst also downgraded the semiconductor industry, sending shares of Intel down by 1.6%.
During a volatile week, stocks bounced between Mideast turmoil and generally strong economic reports. Even with the jobless rate's surprising drop, equities ended on a down note. Still, stocks eked out a tiny overall gain on the week. [Video]
Can you profit from the turmoil in the Middle East? Oil is now flirting around $100 a barrel and gold is continuing its upward trend. For investors, this could present an opportunity in oil and gold stocks. Here is the bull and bear take on three stocks that could rise on Mideast unrest.
The first trading day of the month is usually good to equities, but after a two-day respite, stocks went back back to broad-based declines. The sharp rise in oil prices overshadowed some encouraging corporate and economic news.
The market suffered its biggest swoon since August last week as chaos swept Libya and oil prices hit multiyear highs. With the geopolitical landscape uncertain for the foreseeable future, don't be surprised if stocks come under further selling pressure in the days ahead. [Video]
It was a rough (even if short) week on Wall Street. But at least the Dow ended higher after losing more than 300 points in the previous three days. Some month-end bargain-hunting also helped stem the slide. [Video]
Gold bugs love bad news, and civil war in Libya, Africa's third-largest oil producer, couldn't have come at a better time. After dropping a hundred bucks in January, February's upheavals have pushed gold back within striking distance of nominal all-time highs.
Stocks fell again on Wednesday, and oil prices briefly crossed the $100-a-barrel mark after violence escalated in Libya. Oil traders are spooked about the possible spread of turmoil. Tech bellwether HP's disappointing outlook also hurt.
The Dow suffered a steep triple-digit loss Tuesday as turmoil in Libya ignited a global sell-off in stocks. Oil prices rose sharply, as did safe-haven assets such as Treasurys and the dollar. Disappointing news from Walmart didn't help matters.
Stocks closed broadly if modestly higher Friday on light volume as traders avoided making any big bets ahead of a long holiday weekend. The equity markets closed up for the third straight day and extended their winning ways to a third consecutive week.
Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway liquidated its positions in a number of high-profile companies during the fourth quarter, but the Oracle of Omaha has hung on to his huge stake in Coca-Cola. And Coke's nearly 4% drop is a weight on Buffett's portfolio.
Last week, traders had ample opportunity to take some profits -- and yet the market kept rising. With fewer big reports on tap this week and a key technical hurdle overcome, stocks could very well extend their gains in the sessions ahead. [Video]
Wicked winter weather played havoc with the government's employment situation resulting in an inconclusive jobs report on Friday. Still, stocks ended the week higher. But how much longer can stocks continue to gain?
Wall Street shrugged off instability in Egypt to rally to a two-and-a-half year high Tuesday, boosted by encouraging economic data and better-than-expected corporate earnings.
Stocks fell sharply Friday as investors fled to safety amid disappointing economic data, mixed corporate earnings reports and escalating violence in Egypt. A soft start for equities only got worse as the day progressed. [Video]
Friday's action notwithstanding, in which gold prices rose as the stock market sold off, safe-haven assets are suffering at the expensive of equities and other riskier assets. That's what happens when the global economy appears to be picking up steam.
The Dow crossed the technically meaningless but psychologically soothing 12,000 level for the first time since June 2008, but closed just shy of that plateau. Plenty of indicators hint at a pullback -- or even a full-blown 10% correction.
As much as the market and Corporate America may like what they heard in the president's speech Tuesday night, history shows Obama's reelection in 2012 remains pinned to boosting Americans' income growth to at least 3%. Problem is, right now it's running at just 1.4%.
Stocks closed sharply higher Monday with the Dow Jones posting a triple-digit gain as technology stocks rallied after Intel raised its dividend and expanded its share buybacks by $10 billion. The index last saw 12,000 in June 2008 -- on the way down.
Traders will be reading between the State of the Union's lines to see what Obama's new approach means for business and the market. And given stocks' steady rise for the past eight weeks, profit-taking and choppy action should be no surprise. [Video]
It's been a long time since the DJIA reflected just America's smokestack economy. But today's economic rebound is being led so far by manufacturers. And if you plot those Dow components as a group, you'll see they're leading the larger pack by far.
Stocks closed broadly higher Wednesday after Portugal's government had no trouble in tapping global debt markets, helping ease European debt fears. The euro gained at the dollar's expense, which lifted a broad basket of commodities as well as U.S. equities.
Once again, profit reports are expected to be a tale of strong growth, thanks more to cost cuts than revenue gains. And perhaps even more telling, fourth-quarter 2010 earnings are competing with downright dismal reports for the year-earlier period. [Video]
This week was all about jobs reports, and after December's employment numbers fell short of expectations, stocks ended the first week of trading in 2011 on a down note. Kenny Polcari, managing director at ICAP Corporates explains from the New York Stock Exchange.
Wall Street's consensus sees the S&P 500 tacking on an 11% gain over the next 12 months -- with lots of ups and downs along the way. That has us inclined to play defense, with an eye toward bargain stocks paying generous, sustainable dividends. Here are our top 11 picks for 2011.
Trading came to a quiet end on the Thursday before Christmas as stocks closed mostly lower on especially light volume. A spate of economic reports was similarly mixed, with jobless claims and income improving a bit, but home sales and durable goods falling a little short.
Stocks closed modestly mixed on light volume Friday in the last full trading week of the year, which marked the third week in a row of overall gains. While drugmakers Pfizer and Merck put a damper on the Dow, robust earnings from Oracle and Research In Motion helped lift tech stocks.