stock markets

Corporate earnings gains drove stocks higher Thursday and were aided by a drop in claims for unemployment benefits that signaled a healthier economy and encouraged investors to buy stocks.

Stocks edged up Wednesday after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke offered reassures on the Fed’s stimulus program. The concern has been that “the Fed was going to dial the [stimulus] down to zero regardless how the economy was doing,” said Phil Orlando, chief market strategist at Federated Investors. “I don’t think that’s the case at all…the Fed is going to evaluate the economic landscape,” before it cuts its stimulus.

Stocks declined Tuesday following a series of sub-par earnings reports. “The expectations out there for earnings overall, they’re pretty modest,” said Scott Wren, senior equity strategist at Wells Fargo. “Earnings season is not going to be what drives the market from here.”

Stocks moved higher Monday, extending a hot start to the month of July. Stocks rose to record levels last week after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said the central bank would not ease its stimulus before the economy was ready. The central banker’s comments also stemmed a rise in Treasury yields.

After spending most of Friday flat or down, stocks rallied at the last minute and closed slightly higher, just enough to post new record highs for the Dow Jones industrial average and the Standard & Poor’s 500 index. The gains were tiny. And the new record doesn’t mean much for investors, who hardly have any more money now than they did a day earlier. But it is a sign that investors believe the market’s rally this year may not be over yet.

The stock market, which has been marching higher for a week, got extra fuel Thursday after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said the central bank will keep supporting the economy.

Every move the Fed has made in recent months has been analyzed. Wednesday’s minutes from the June policy meeting were no exception. But the minutes offered no surprises. The report showed many Fed members want to see further job gains before cutting back on the central bank’s stimulus measures. It also showed some divisions among officials over when the Fed should slow that stimulus.

All major stocks indexes rose Tuesday, but gains were led by the riskier parts of the market. The Russell 2000, an index of small-company stocks, climbed for a fourth straight day. The Dow Jones transportation average, seen as a leading indicator for the broader economy, also jumped.

Stocks posted gains Monday ahead of the kickoff of corporate earnings reports. Analysts predict that earnings growth for companies in the Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 3% in the second quarter. While growth is down from 5% in the first quarter, earnings are still expected to reach record levels.

Stocks rose Friday as investors parsed a jobs report, illustrating the complex and outsized role that the Fed has played on stock market results in recent weeks. That’s because the Federal Reserve, led by Chairman Ben Bernanke, has been propping up the economy by buying bonds and keeping interest rates low. Investors know that the Fed isn’t going to continue the stimulus forever, but they worry that developments like Friday’s positive jobs report could make the Fed yank away the stimulus too soon.

Stocks gained Wednesday after encouraging U.S. hiring news. Fewer people sought unemployment benefits last week and ADP, a payrolls processor, said businesses added more jobs last month than analysts had expected.

Stocks rose most of the day Tuesday on positive news about car sales, home prices and manufacturing. But major indexes turned lower after 1:40 p.m. ET after news emerged that Egypt’s military had drawn up plans to suspend the country’s constitution, dissolve its legislature and set up an interim government.

On the first day of trading as separate companies, Rupert Murdoch’s television and movie empire, 21st Century Fox, gained nearly 2% while the publishing company ended the day down 5%. Still, the publishing entity, which took the name News Corp., largely held its own with investors.

Stocks rose on Wall Street Monday as investors judged that the economy still isn’t growing fast enough for the central bank to cut back on its stimulus program. U.S. manufacturing grew modestly in June after a pickup in new orders and stronger production, according to a private survey.

After flitting between tiny gains and losses most of Friday, the stock market closed mostly lower, a peaceful end to the most volatile month in nearly two years.

The Dow Jones industrial average and the Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose for a third straight day on Thursday. Yields on Treasury securities fell for a second day, easing worries that a sudden spike in interest rates could hurt the economy.

Stocks rose again Wednesday after thegovernment reported that the economy grew at an annual rate of 1.8 percent in the first three months of the year, down significantly from the previous estimate of 2.4 percent and anemic by the standards of many economists. It might seem counterintuitive for stocks and growth to go in opposite directions, but analysts said it made sense.

Several encouraging economic reports brought buyers back to the market Tuesday, pushing stock indexes higher. Home prices jumped in April. Durable goods orders also rose and consumer confidence soared.

U.S. trading started with a slump Monday. The market recovered much of its loss, then fell back toward steeper losses again. By the close of trading the big stock indexes were clinging to modest gains for the second quarter. The last day of trading for the quarter is Friday.

After a two-day plunge, stocks ended the week with an advance on Friday, suggesting that Wall Street may be successfully weaned from the Federal Reserve’s easy money after all. The Fed’s move also pushed up the yield on the 10-year Treasury note to the highest level in almost two years as investors bet that U.S. interest rates will rise.

A day after the Federal Reserve roiled U.S financial markets when it said it could step back from its aggressive economic stimulus program later this year, financial markets continued to slide. A slowdown in Chinese manufacturing added to Wall Street’s worries on Thursday.

The stock market drifted lower for most of the day, ahead of a scheduled statement from the Fed and a press conference by Chairman Ben Bernanke. The slide continued after Bernanke’s announcement that the Fed could start scaling back its huge economic stimulus program later this year.

News Corp’s publishing and entertainment arms began trading separately on a preliminary basis today, one of the last steps before Rupert Murdoch’s company officially splits in two on June 28.

U.S. stocks moved higher Tuesday, helped by news of a pickup in home building and low inflation. The market’s gains were steady and broad. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 12.77 points, or 0.8 percent, to 1,651.81. All 10 of its sectors rose, led by industrial and telecommunications companies. The Russell 2000, an index of smaller companies, closed at a record high but fell just shy of the 1,000-point milestone.

The major stock indexes all rose about 1 percent in early trading and stayed there for most of the day, before dipping slightly in the afternoon. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 12.31 points, or 0.8 percent, to 1,639.04. It had been up as much as 20 points. The market’s gains were broad. Telecommunications was the only one of the 10 industry sectors in the S&P 500 to post a loss. Netflix did better than any other stock in the S&P 500 after announcing that it will run original TV series from Dreamworks Animation.

Stocks closed lower Friday on disappointing economic news. “There was just no good news today,” said Cam Albright, a director at Wilmington Trust Investment Advisors in Wilmington, Del. Add the handful of economic reports out Friday to the anxiety over the Fed’s stimulus program, “and you have the recipe for a soft market to finish the week,” he said.

Stocks closed sharply higher Thursday positive news. The government said the number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits fell to 334,000, below what economists had expected. Jim O’Sullivan, chief U.S. economist at High Frequency Economics, wrote in a note to clients that the government’s weekly numbers, while volatile, “continue to signal an improving labor market.”

Without any good news to drive the market up Wednesday, investors grappled with the question hanging over financial markets: When will the Federal Reserve and other central banks pull back their economic stimulus programs?

U.S. stocks ended down after a choppy Tuesday. It looked bad from the start. Indexes began sliding from the opening bell, trailing markets in Asia and Europe, which were rattled when the Bank of Japan decided not to take any new steps to spur growth in the world’s third-largest economy.

On Monday, S&P upgraded its outlook on the U.S. debt rating to “Stable” from “Negative.” That doesn’t restore the U.S. government’s top-shelf credit rating, but it does mean that S&P is unlikely to cut the rating again in the near future. Stocks moved slightly higher on the news, but the gains proved both modest and fickle, and the market spent most of the day flitting between small gains and losses.

The stock market rose sharply Friday after the government reported a pickup in hiring last month.

Stocks posted modest gains Thursday resulting in the market’s breaking a two-day losing streak as traders looked ahead to the government’s monthly employment report Friday.

Troubling economic data sent stock markets down on Wednesday. Stocks started lower and declined steadily throughout the day. After rising every month this year and climbing to record levels this spring, some said a pullback was overdue.

Comments from a Federal Reserve official raised expectations that the Fed could start easing off its support for the economy soon, sending the stock market sharply lower in the late afternoon Tuesday. The market recovered in the last hour of trading to end with slight losses.

On Monday, a measure of U.S. manufacturing fell in May to its lowest level since June 2009 as overseas economies slumped and weak business spending reduced new orders to factories. That was encouraging to investors.

The Los Gatos, Calif., company will replace Perrigo Co., a maker of over-the-counter drugs. Perrigo announced last week that it is transferring its stock listing to the New York Stock Exchange from the Nasdaq.

After moving between small losses and gains for most of the day, the stock market started to drift lower in afternoon trading. The sell-off accelerated in the final hour.

Unemployment claims rose and an initial estimate of first-quarter economic growth was revised slightly lower Thursday. That suggests the U.S. economy may still need some time to recover from its funk and that the Fed will keep up its $85 billion in monthly bond purchases. But is was enough to boost stocks overall.

The stock market closed lower Wednesday, led by the same industry groups that had the biggest gains early in the year: rich dividend payers like power utilities and makers of consumer staples. Rising bond yields have been an important factor behind that shift.

Stocks jumped Tuesday. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 106 points to close at another record Tuesday, bouncing back from a loss the week before. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index also gained. The S&P is on track for its seventh straight monthly gain, the longest winning streak since 2009.