stock markets

Talk that the European Central Bank may buy struggling countries’ bonds sent the S&P 500 up Tuesday, but fell back by the end of trading.

Stocks dipped down Monday after the German central bank reiterated doubts about having the European Central Bank buy bonds to help struggling European economies. It stressed that such purchases could carry “substantial risks.”

Strong earnings and housing numbers drove stocks up Thursday. The news helped push the S&P and Dow near their highest closing levels since 2007.

 U.S. industrial production increased last month as factories made more cars, computers and airplanes, according to the Federal Reserve. That sent stocks up and down Wednesday.

Stocks were held back Tuesday by reports that U.S. companies barely increased their inventories in June. The slower restocking trend could act as a drag on overall economic growth. When businesses place fewer orders, factory production slows.

Slower growth in Asia worried investors Monday and sent markets lower because Asia’s economic endurance has helped offset weakness in the U.S. and Europe in recent years. Exports from China and Japan are declining as Europe’s economic woes hurt consumer confidence there.

Stocks inched down for most of the day Friday. Then, with 45 minutes of trading left, the Dow Jones industrial average turned positive.

U.S. stocks dawdled between small gains and losses Thursday with investors unable to decide what to focus on: incremental encouraging news about the U.S. economy, or incremental negative news about China and elsewhere.

One big reason Disney stock is back in favor: its profits are predictable, even when the economy slows. Two-thirds of Disney’s profits come from TV networks like ESPN, ABC, Disney Channel, ABC Family and Disney XD. And even if advertising growth cools further, Disney is still locking in annual fee increases from distributors like DirecTV, with whom it is expected to renegotiate a long-term deal next year. The share of TV revenue that comes from such fees is seen rising toward the half-way point industry wide.

Stronger corporate earnings reports and expectations that central banks will act to support the economy powered the Standard & Poor’s 500 index past 1,400 for the first time in three months on Tuesday.

In the absence of major economic news on Monday, stocks rode a tailwind of optimism from the most recent U.S. job numbers released last week and hope for more action by European authorities to address that region’s debt crisis.

Stocks sank across the U.S. and Europe, the euro fell against the dollar and investors dumped bonds issued by the governments of Spain and Italy.

The market wavered between gains and losses for much of the day, yanked around by technical problems, an ambiguous statement from the Federal Reserve, and mixed reports on U.S. companies that made it difficult to decipher just where the economy is headed.

Stocks slipped Tuesday in advance of crucial Fed, ECB meetings. The Federal Reserve, which started a two-day policy meeting Tuesday, had appeared to be moving toward announcing some kind of new step to energize the U.S. economy. But there were big questions over whether it will do so this week.

European leaders vowed Thursday and Friday to keep the continent’s monetary union intact, and investors sent stock markets shooting higher. But stocks were little changed Monday as investors waited to see if they would back up their words with action.

When European Central Bank President Mario Draghi vowed Thursday to “do whatever it takes” to keep the continent’s monetary union intact, stocks were off to races in the U.S. and Europe.

Mixed earnings news on Wednesday sends some stock markets up, others down and investors mostly sold. A sharp drop in new home sales also fed the selling.

Investors around the world dumped stocks Tuesday and fled to the relative safety of U.S. government debt. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note fell to another record low and the dollar hit a two-year high against the euro.

Investors reacted after news that Spain that the Spanish economy contracted by 0.4% in the second quarter. Falling economic output makes it more difficult for Spain to deal with its debts. Stock markets ended down and yields for U.S. government bonds sank to record lows as traders sought the safety of American debt.

U.S. stocks fell sharply Friday as escalating problems in Spain jolted investors. Spain’s stock market plunged 6% and its borrowing costs spiked after a regional government asked for a financial lifeline.

Strong earnings from IBM and other technology companies nudged the stock market higher Thursday, but a trio of weak economic reports kept the gains in check.

Stocks rose Tuesday after Mattel, Coke and other companies turned in positive earnings reports.

News that consumer spending slid in June pushed stocks down from the start of the trading day. Though they recovered a bit around midday, all three major indexes closed down.

Billionaire investment guru Warren Buffett set a gloomy tone before the market opened, telling CNBC that weak demand is hurting his retail, jewelry, carpet and other businesses. He said business in Europe has dropped off quickly in the past two months.

Stocks closed lower Wednesday. It was the fifth straight day of losses for both the Dow and S&P. That’s the worst stretch for both since a six-day losing streak that ran through May 18.

Stocks fell for a fourth day Tuesday as tech profits slumped. The bad news outweighed hopeful developments in Europe earlier in the day. “The past quarter was great, but going forward many companies may have problems,” said Joe Kinahan, chief derivatives strategist at TD Ameritrade, a brokerage. “People are confused about what to think.”

Stocks slid Monday ahead of the corporate earnings season. Kim Caughey-Forrest, senior equity analyst at Fort Pitt Capital Group, said many portfolio managers are afraid that this earnings season could bring bad surprises about stocks they’ve picked up earlier this year.

An anemic jobs report led investors to shift money into low-risk assets and sent stock markets down Friday.

American shoppers slowed their spending in June, resulting in tepid sales for many retailers. That led to stocks closing lower Thursday. “It all boils down to one little word: uncertainty,” said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Rockwell Global Capital. “No one will spend if it feels like we’re in a recession.”

Major stock indexes wavered in early trading Tuesday, then moved decisively higher after the government reported that factory orders rose in May. Caterpillar, Alcoa, Boeing and other stocks that depend on manufacturing rose.

Stocks struggled to stay out of the red in quiet holiday-week trading after a trade group said American manufacturing shrank in June for the first time in almost three years.

Stock markets climbed Friday after leaders of the 17 countries that use the euro appeared finally to have found a broad strategy to fight a debt crisis that has hounded European governments and world investors for three years.

There were varying explanations for the late comeback on the stock market on Thursday. European leaders were holding their first day of summit talks to address the region’s sluggish economic growth and collapse of investor confidence in the finances of weak countries like Greece and Portugal.

Stocks rebounded some more on Tuesday after the government said that businesses placed more orders for long-lasting manufactured goods in May, suggesting that their confidence in the U.S. economy was not shaken by signs of weakness that emerged this spring. Core goods, a measure of business investment plans, also jumped.

PulteGroup, Lennar and other housing stocks climbed following news that a measure of national home prices rose 1.3% in April, the first increase in seven months. This helped fuel overall gains in the stock markets.

Analysts worry that Europe’s piecemeal approach to its spreading government debt crises may fall short, and the banking system of a large country like Spain could collapse. This helped send stock markets lower Monday.

Stock markets turned around on Fricay, led by banks. JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and other big lenders posted solid gains.

The big stock market indices lost ground on Thursday due to nagging problems in Europe, and iffy U.S. economic data. But many big media companies lost less. CBS, Time Warner, Discovery Communications and Walt Disney Corp. all fared somewhat better than the 2% drop the Dow Jones Industrial endured.

Losses in energy and materials companies led a widespread rout on the stock market. The Dow started sinking after 10 a.m., when the Philadelphia branch of the Federal Reserve reported a sharp contraction in manufacturing in the Northeast. The losses accelerated throughout the day.

The Federal Reserve’s latest plan to help the economy failed to impress Wall Street on Wednesday. Stocks finished slightly lower for the day, and not much better than they were before the Fed announcement.