Thread: S&P 500 in Longest Weekly Winning Streak in Nearly 10 Years

S&P 500 in Longest Weekly Winning Streak in Nearly 10 Years

By Adam Samson
Published November 29, 2013FOXBusiness

• 
  REUTERS

FOX Business: Capitalism Lives Here

The broad S&P 500 closed in the green for the eighth-straight week -- its longest winning streak since early 2004.

Today's Markets
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 10.9 points, or 0.07%, to 16086, the S&P 500 dipped 1.4 points, or 0.08%, to 1806 and the Nasdaq Composite advanced 15.1 points, or 0.37%, to 4060.

The markets also posted a solid monthly advance: The Dow climbed 3.5%, the S&P 500 gained 2.8% and the Nasdaq rose 3.6%.

It's been another good month for Wall Street. The Dow is up 3.5%, the broader S&P 500 is 2.9% to the upside and the tech-heavy Nasdaq is up 3.2%. Both the Dow and S&P are trading at record highs, while the Nasdaq is at a 13-year high. The gains so far this month have been driven by ongoing hopes the Federal Reserve will continue buying bonds at a clip of $85 billion a month until early next year.

Trading volume came in around 1.3 billion shares -- the lowest of the year. The economic calendar was also barren.

On the foreign front, Standard & Poor's slashed the Netherlands' credit rating to "AA+" from "AAA." Spain's outlook, meanwhile, was upgraded to "stable" from "negative." Markets in Europe rose modestly on the day, while Asian shares were mixed.

"Overall, European risky assets were also supported by stronger consumer confidence, which reached the highest level since mid-2011 yesterday," Barclays wrote in a note to clients.

In corporate news, traders were paying close attention to retailers like Wal-Mart (WMT), Target (TGT) and Best Buy ( BBY BEST BUY

) as the key holiday-shopping season kicks off. U.S. crude oil prices climbed 49 cents, or 0.53%, to $92.79 a barrel. Wholesale New York Harbor gasoline dipped 0.06% to $2.697 a gallon. Gold jumped $15.40, or 1.2%, to $1,253 a troy ounce.

http://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/2...arly-10-years/

Stocks Finish Strong Month

Dow, S&P 500 Advance for 8th Week in a Row; Climb Fueled by Economy, Fed

By KAITLYN KIERNAN
Updated Nov. 29, 2013 5:21 p.m. ET


Traders often bring their children to work the day after Thanksgiving. Reuters

U.S. stocks shook off a mixed showing to post a gain for the holiday-shortened week, lifting the S&P 500-stock index to its longest string of weekly advances in almost a decade.

The gains capped a month in which the Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 3.5% and set 12 closing records. The Dow and the S&P 500 each have risen in eight consecutive weeks, the longest such streak for the Dow in two years.

In the Markets

• MoneyBeat: Black Friday Casts Shadow on Retail Stocks
• Ahead of the Tape: Surge Doesn't Pass Sniff Test
• Monthly Global Stock Indexes
• Bonds Lost Ground in November
• Gold Has Worst November in 35 Years

For the year, the Dow is up 22.8% and the S&P 500 has risen 26.6%.

The gains underscore the breadth of the stock market's advance amid an expanding economy, low interest rates and investor-friendly Federal Reserve policy. Many investors say they expect stocks to continue to rise, thanks to expectations that interest rates will remain low in coming years as central-bank officials maintain efforts to bolster economic growth.
"It's hard to see anything specific to bring stocks down or to hold them back for the rest of the year," said John Kvantas, who helps manage $16 billion as executive director at USAA.
Enlarge Image



Though persistently high unemployment and slowing corporate-earnings growth have led some skeptics to question whether stocks' gains are sustainable, investors are taking heart in the steady improvement of U.S. employment and the increasing participation of retail investors who in many cases sat out the early years of an advance that began in 2009.
"Everyone wants to be the one to call a top, but many individual investors and funds remain underinvested," said J.J. Kinahan, chief strategist at TD Ameritrade. "The only bubble is in the number of people calling a bubble."
The Dow erased early gains in light trading Friday, finishing down 10.92 points, or 0.1%, at 16086.41 in an abbreviated session. Earlier in the day, the Dow was up as much as 77 points.
The S&P 500 index dropped 1.42 points, or 0.1%, to 1805.81, finishing the week 0.1% higher and ending the month up 2.8%. It notched the longest streak of weekly gains since a nine-week stretch ending Jan. 23, 2004.





Tomi Kilgore takes a look at the markets, including three stocks to watch today. Photo: Getty Images.

The Nasdaq Composite Index added 15.14 points, or 0.4%, to 4059.89, rising 3.6% in November.
Activity was muted, as the Friday after Thanksgiving usually has the lowest trading volume of the year. Trading volume was just 48% of the daily average over the past month, according to BATS Global Markets data.
The latest good news came from the retail sector, which has been otherwise soft amid uneven economic growth and hefty competition.
On Friday, Wal-Mart WMT +0.10% Stores reported strong Thanksgiving Day traffic in stores and online, amid shopper interest in big-ticket electronic products. Wal-Mart was among a number of retailers that opened on Thanksgiving Day in an effort to boost struggling sales in a tight economy and keep up with online retailers. Wal-Mart shares rose eight cents to $81.01.
Apple shares rose to their highest price of the year Friday, gaining 10.54, or 1.9%, to 556.50, as the company joined in on offering Black Friday deals with a rare promotion for its products.
A weekly survey by Nielsen Co. of 1,000 Americans showed that 85% intend on skipping out on retail store shopping entirely on Black Friday and 46% plan on shopping online on Cyber Monday, up from 30% a year ago. Shares of online retailer Amazon.com Inc. rose $6.91, or 1.8%, to $393.62.
"Initial reads on Black Friday are strong," said Matthew Kaufler, portfolio manager of the $1 billion Federated Clover Value Fund.
After worry in recent weeks that the holiday shopping season would be weak, Mr. Kaufler said, "It looks like we'll have a decent holiday for retailers, which is fueling some optimism in the near term."
Not everyone is feeling optimistic. The Chicago Board Options Exchange's Volatility Index, the market's so-called fear gauge, jumped 12% this week for its biggest one-week gain since the week ended Sept. 27, when the market was girding for a shutdown of the U.S. government. The VIX typically rises as stocks fall.
Bond prices have slipped over the past month amid renewed fears that the Fed may soon pare back its $85 billion monthly debt-purchase program.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 2.746% from 2.739% late Wednesday, as upbeat data this week boosted bets that the Federal Reserve could pare its bond purchases as soon as December.
Most bond investments lost ground in November amid renewed fears that the Federal Reserve could scale back its monthly debt purchases as soon as next month, with the 10-year Treasury yield rising 0.20 percentage point.
Still, many investors take comfort in promises by central-bank officials to keep short-term interest rates near zero in coming years.

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/...27384202556484