stock markets

Technology stocks rose Wednesday, and chip stocks were still a big focus for investors since Texas Instruments Inc. said Monday it would pay $6.5 billion in cash for National Semiconductor Corp.

Stocks ended mixed Tuesday following reports that the minutes from the Fed’s meeting on March 15 confirmed that members of the central bank are split about whether it needs to tighten credit later this year to ward off inflation.

Stocks edged higher Monday as oil hit a new 30-month high.

Stocks rose Friday after the Labor Department announced the unemployment rate fell to 8.8%, the lowest since March 2009.

Stocks ended Thursday mixed as the price of oil jumped to a 30-month high. Slightly disappointing reports on unemployment claims and factory orders also weighed on the market.

All 10 sectors of the benchmark Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose on Wednesday. AT&T Inc. led the 30 stocks that make up the Dow Jones industrial average with a 2.2% gain.

Stocks gained Tuesday as consumer confidence falls less than feare.

Stocks faltered Monday despite improving economic reports. The Commerce Department said consumer spending rose at its fastest pace in four months in February, though some of the increase was driven by higher gas prices. The National Association of Realtors said more Americans signed contracts to buy homes in February than economists were expecting. Sales rose in every region but the Northeast, but remained below what is considered a healthy level.

Stronger economic reports helped stocks rebound on Thursday.

Japan’s worsening nuclear crisis rattled financial markets on Wednesday, with stock indexes giving up 2%.

Japan crisis puts world financial markets on edge Tuesday, sending markets lower.

Fears of a slowdown in Japan pushed stocks lower Monday. Nine out of the 10 sectors that make up the Standard and Poor’s 500 index lost ground. Utilities companies fell 1.4%, the most of any group, as explosions at Japanese nuclear reactors in the wake of the disaster dimmed prospects for the nuclear energy industry.

Stocks inched higher Friday following news of the earthquake in Japan. Industrial and materials companies rose on expectations that they will benefit from Japan’s rebuilding efforts.

Stocks dipped Wednesday as crude oil prices hovered near $104 a barrel, continuing a three-week run of high prices that economists say could slow the economic recovery.

Bank stocks gained and oil prices dipped, helping push indexes higher Tuesday.

Stocks fell Monday after oil prices pushed higher, hitting a two-year high at close to $107 a barrel.

A surge in oil prices sent stocks lower Friday. Markets have been rattled over the past two weeks as higher oil prices threaten to undermine the economic recovery by increasing transportation and production costs.

Stocks leapt higher Thursday as hope builds for job recovery. The signs of job growth followed a report Wednesday from payroll processor ADP saying that private employers added far more jobs than analysts had expected last month.

Stocks closed higher Wednesday following a report from payroll processor ADP said private employers added 217,000 jobs last month, well above the 180,000 analysts had predicted.

Stocks fell Tuesday after oil rose $2.66 to settle at $99.63 a barrel amid unrest in Iran and Libya. Iran clamped down on anti-government protesters and forces loyal to Libya’s leader Moammar Gadhafi launched counter-attacks against rebels expanding control over the country.

Oil prices fell to about $97 a barrel Monday as worries over the global oil market eased after reports that some Libyan ports reopened to oil tankers and Saudi Arabia was boosting exports. The news boosted stock prices.

Stocks recovered Friday after crude oil prices settled at $97.88, down from a high of $103 Thursday but still up 13 percent over the last week. Oil prices have been rising, sending stocks lower.

Stocks slid Thursday as traders worried that fighting could threaten Libya’s oil production and spread to other countries in the region, such as oil-rich Saudi Arabia. Higher oil prices can also slow the U.S. economy by increasing transportation costs.

Stocks fell for a second straight day Wednesday after clashes in Libya sent oil prices to two-year highs and technology giant Hewlett-Packard said its revenue growth was slowing.

Unrest in Libya sent oil prices jumping 6% and rattling the stock markets Tuesday.

With the Dow Jones industrial average’s gain on Friday, the index has lost ground only three days this month.

Stocks pulled higher Thursday after the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia said its index of manufacturing in the mid-Atlantic region nearly doubled between January and February.

Stocks rose Wednesday, driven ahead by news of strong earnings and deal news.

Stocks fell Tuesday after the Commerce Department reported that retail sales rose just 0.3 percent in January, the smallest increase since June and half of what economists had predicted.

Stocks closed mixed Monday after trading in a tight range through the day as investors weighed the impact of President Barack Obama’s $3.73 trillion budget proposal for the next fiscal year.

Stocks rallied Friday after President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt relinquished power. Investors have been concerned during the nearly three weeks of anti-government demonstrations in Egypt that the unrest could spread to countries like Saudi Arabia, one of the world’s biggest exporters of oil.

The Dow Jones industrial average ended an eight-day winning streak Thursday, entirely a result of Cisco’s 14%. Other indexes managed slight gains.

The Dow racked up its eighth straight day of gains Wednesday after major indexes traded lower for much of the day.

Tuesday marked the seventh day in a row that the Dow Jones industrial average posted a gain.

Deal news and positive earnings reports pushed stocks higher Monday.

Stocks shruged off a mixed unemployment report from the Labor Department Friday.

A speech by Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke helped push stocks higherThursday.

The Dow traded in a tight range throughout Wednesday as investors weighed the impact of unrest in Egypt against better-than-expected news on the job market.

The Dow Jones industrial average closed above 12,000 for the first time in two and a half years Tuesday, putting the Great Recession even farther in the rearview mirror and erasing most of the damage it inflicted on tens of millions of retirement accounts.

Stocks were pushed higher after Exxon Mobil Corp. gained 2.1% after it reported its most profitable quarter since 2008. Massey Energy Co. jumped 9.8% after Alpha Natural Resources Inc. said that it would buy the coal producer in a $7.1 billion deal.