stock markets

The market rose from the opening of trading and climbed steadily throughout the day Tuesday, returning to record territory. The advance in small-company stocks is another sign of how optimistic investors have become. Smaller stocks are more risky than large ones, but also offer investors the prospect of greater returns.

The stock market’s recent rally took a pause on Monday. Stocks started lower before paring some of those losses throughout the day. The latest positive data, out Monday, showed that Americans increased spending at retailers last month. That suggests that consumers may boost economic growth in the current quarter ending June 30. Still, that wasn’t enough to lift shares.

With gains on Friday, U.S. stocks rose for the third week in a row. Investors are in love with small stocks because they stand a greater chance of surging ahead than large, global companies do if the U.S. economy continues to fare better than Europe and Asia.

Even a decline in the number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits failed to give stock prices a boost. Markets drifted lower in early trading, moved between gains and losses in the afternoon, then ended slightly lower.

The Dow continued its climb, ending Wednesday above 15,000 again. Investors focused on company earnings as reporting for the first quarter draws to a close. Although earnings growth has slowed from last quarter, profits are at record levels and projected to rise throughout the year.

It was another milestone in the market’s epic ascent of 2013. Good economic reports, strong corporate earnings and fresh support from central banks have eased investors’ concerns about another economic slowdown. Many had been on the lookout for signs that a spring swoon would derail the rally, as happened in each of the past three years. Instead, Wall Street has climbed almost 15 percent since Jan. 1.

Bank stocks rallied Monday, led by the Bank of America. News that Bank of America and MBIA, a bond-insurance company, had reached a settlement over a long-running dispute propelled both companies’ stocks up.

Stocks posted gains Thursday after a fall in unemployment claims.Signs of increased hiring have supported this year’s surge in stocks and pushed the market to record highs. The run-up has started to falter in recent weeks on concerns that the global economy is slowing.

Stocks opened lower and kept sagging throughout the day, hurt by reports of a slowdown in hiring and manufacturing last month. Discouraging earnings news from major U.S. companies also dragged the market lower.

Worries about slower economic growth have rattled the stock market this month, but it has consistently bounced back. On Tuesday, IBM and other tech stocks led the Standard & Poor’s 500 index up. The broad-market measure ended April with a 1.8% gain, the sixth month in a row the index has climbed higher.

The stock market has recovered all the ground it lost over the previous two weeks, when worries over slower economic growth, falling commodity prices and disappointing quarterly earnings battered financial markets.

The economy grew at a 2.5% annual rate in the first three months of the year, the government said Friday, stalling stocks. That was below the 3.1% forecast by economists. The shortfall reinforced the perception that the economy is grinding, rather than charging, ahead.

Stocks edged higher Thursday as good news on the job market and healthy earnings from name-brand companies like Royal Caribbean and Harley-Davidson encouraged investors.

Stocks finished Wednesday fairly flat after a day of weak earnings reports. A report that orders for long-lasting U.S. factory goods fell more than economists expected added to concerns that global growth is slowing. The Commerce Department said orders for durable goods declined 5.7% in March following a 4.3% gain the previous month. February’s figure was also revised lower.

Stocks posted gains on Tuesdayon strong earnings reports. Coach, a maker of luxury handbags, and Netflix, which streams TV shows and movies over the Internet, were winners after announcing profits that impressed investors. Financial stocks rose after Travelers’ earnings beat the expectations of financial analysts who follow the company.

Stocks edged higher Monday as energy stocks rebounded. The energy industry climbed 1 percent, making it the biggest gainer in the Standard & Poor’s 500 index. Oil rose 75 cents, or 0.9 percent, to $88.76 a barrel Monday. A week ago, crude fell below $90 a barrel for the first time this year after reports that China’s economic growth slowed.

Strong earnings from a pair of technology giants helped the stock market recover some of its losses Friday, a positive end to Wall Street’s worst week in five months.

Weak earnings reports sent the stock market down Thursday. The stock prices of Morgan Stanley, UnitedHealth Group and others sank after they turned in weaker quarterly results. Prices of commodities held steady following a wild couple of days.

The stock market rebounded Tuesday after Monday’s plunge. Mining companies rose Tuesday as commodities markets stabilized and materials stocks gained the most of the 10 industry groups in the S&P 500 after leading the market lower the day before. Home builders advanced following reports of a recovery in housing and a pickup in hiring.

Falling commodities resulted in the Dow’s worst day of the year on Monday. It was the biggest drop for the stock market since Nov. 7 — Election Day — last year.

Signs of a slowing economy rattled commodity markets on Friday, ending the stock market’s four day climb. The price of crude oil dropped 2% to $91 a barrel as weak U.S. economic reports followed forecasts for weaker oil demand.

Stocks rose Thursday for the fourth day in a row, led by strong retail performance. The discount chain Ross Stores jumped 6 percent, the best gain in the Standard & Poor’s 500 index. A surprising drop in claims for unemployment benefits last week gave investors more encouragement. Analysts said it could mean a slowdown in hiring last month may have been temporary.

Stocks rose sharply Wednesday, led by gains in technology. The stock market is reversing course from last week, when investors’ confidence fell because of an unexpectedly poor report on the U.S. job market and other signs that the economy slowed in March.

The Dow gained almost 60 points to 14,673 Tuesday, an increase of 0.4%. The Dow most recently set a record a week ago. It’s up 12% this year. Materials stocks led the gains following a surge in prices for commodities like copper.

Stocks rose Monday ahead of earnings season. Alcoa became the first major U.S. company to report earnings late Monday, and the results were mostly good. Aluminum maker’s income was higher than analysts were expecting, but its revenue fell slightly short of expectations. Later this week the pace picks up with reports from Bed Bath & Beyond, Wells Fargo and JPMorgan Chase.

Stocks closed down Friday following disappointing news on jobs. U.S. employers added just 88,000 jobs in March, according to the Labor Department’s monthly survey. That’s half the pace of the previous six months. The report was far worse than economists had forecast and a disappointment for investors following positive signs on housing and the job market over the winter.

Stocks moved higher Thursday. “Investors have been looking for a reason to sell, given the rally we’ve seen in the market in the past couple of months,” said Joseph Tanious at JPMorgan Funds. “Today, you’re seeing investors come back into the market and buy on the dip.”

The stock market dropped Wednesday after weak economic reports disappointed the market and came two days after news that U.S. manufacturing growth slowed unexpectedly last month.

Health insurers powered stock market gains a day after the government released revised reimbursement rates for Medicare Advantage plans. The new numbers suggest that funding cuts will be less severe than analysts and companies had feared.

Renewed worries about the region’s long-running debt crisis weighed on the Dow Jones industrial average on Wednesday, and held the Standard & Poor’s 500 index back from reaching an all-time high.

Stocks climbed Tuesday on reports that factory orders surged in February, helped by stronger demand for commercial aircraft. Overall orders for durable goods jumped 5.7% from the previous month, the Commerce Department said. The stock market’s gains were widely shared. All 10 industry groups in the S&P 500 rose, with health care and energy companies leading the way.

Optimism about a deal to prevent financial collapse in Cyprus had briefly pushed the Standard & Poor’s 500 index to within a quarter-point of its record closing high on Monday, but stocks soon turned negative.

Stocks rose Friday, helped by some strong earnings reports. Nike’s stock hit an all-time high, rising 11 percent to $59.53 after the company reported a spike in quarterly profit. Tiffany’s stock rose nearly 2 percent to $69.23 after it reported strong earnings.

Stocks fell Thursday following rising concerns about the banking situation in Cyprus developing into bankruptcy as well as unexpected news that Oracle’s sales declined in its fiscal third quarter.

Stocks traded steadily higher for most of the day Wednesday and spiked after the Federal Reserve said it will continue with aggressive measures to boost the economy. Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said that Cyprus crisis posed no major risk to the U.S. economy.

Wall Street held its own Tuesday after a “no” vote on Cyprus’ tax plan. Investors were focused on Cyprus, where the Mediterranean country’s lawmakers voted against a proposed bailout plan for banks that would have called for raiding the savings accounts of ordinary citizens, setting a new precedent in Europe’s ongoing debt crisis.

Stocks closed lower Monday following a weekend agreement between Cyprus and its European partners called for the government to raid bank accounts as part of a €15.8 billion ($20.4 billion) financial bailout, the first time in the euro zone crisis that the prospect of seizing individuals’ savings has been raised.

Encouraging news on jobs gave the market an early lift on Thursday, and by the end of trading, the Dow Jones industrial average posted its 10th straight day of gains. The last time the Dow knocked out 10 straight days of gains was November 1996.

Stocks climbed again on Wednesday. Demand for stocks has been propelled this year by optimism that the housing market is recovering and that companies have started to hire. Strong company earnings and ongoing stimulus from the Federal Reserve are also helping make stocks more attractive.

A tiny gain gave the Dow its eighth straight increase Tuesday, long enough to match its longest series of gains since February 2011. Stocks have surged this year as investors became encouraged by a recovery in the housing market and a pickup in hiring. Strong corporate earnings and continuing economic stimulus from the Federal Reserve are also supporting demand for stocks.