Wall Street faces Fed meeting with momentum
NEW YORK — Wall Street stocks are set to build on nearly year-and-a-half highs as they face next week's key economic reports and the US Federal Reserve's monetary policy meeting."We are…
NEW YORK — Wall Street stocks are set to build on nearly year-and-a-half highs as they face next week's key economic reports and the US Federal Reserve's monetary policy meeting."We are in the process of testing our highs from mid-January on the S&P 500," said Gina Martin of Wells Fargo Securities."The fears for sovereign credit risk and a possible step further in China relative to tighter (banking) reserve requirements have dissipated for now," she said."We are back to focusing on much better economic growth numbers."The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose a modest 0.55 percent over the week to close at 10,624.69.The technology-rich Nasdaq composite gained 1.77 percent to 2,367.66.And the broad-market Standard & Poor's 500 index advanced 0.99 percent to 1,149.99.While the blue-chip Dow remained below its January peaks, the other two major indices surged.The Nasdaq on Thursday hit its highest level since late August 2008 and the S&P 500 reached an October 2008 high.The week was marked by indecision in the absence of major economic indicators to provide direction."I look at the way the market has performed in the absence of real catalyst, it's constructive," Craig Peckham of the Jefferies brokerage said at the end of a week light on market moving economic data.Peckham said the quiet week could have been a "wonderful opportunity" to take profits, and the fact that the market gained "should be taken as a pretty good positive."The main spark of interest came from merger and acquisition activities, which had been scarce during the financial crisis because of tight credit conditions.Among the merger news was life insurance giant MetLife's deal Monday to buy a unit of American International Group in a 15.5-billion-dollar transaction that will help AIG pay back part of its government bailout.On Friday, fertilizer producer Terra Industries sealed a 4.7-billion-dollar agreement to be acquired by CF Industries, after Norway's Yara International declined to raise its rival offer.In another sign of reviving market dynam
last modification 2010-03-13 04:30:07
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