US stocks rise sharply as Wall Street’s in a betting mood, after a couple of economic reports show the effects of all that government stimulus, and financials surge on speculation the stress tests results won’t be so stressful after all.
DJIA jumps 214 (2.6%) to 8427, its highest point since early Jan. 13. S&P 500 rises 30 (3.4%) to 907, Nasdaq Comp rises 44 (2.6%) to 1764. Rise reflects a big move across asset classes into riskier assets and away from safer ones.
It seems as if leaks of the stress-test results will be plentiful this week leading up to Thursday’s official release.
The AP is the latest news organization to get a scoop, reporting regulators have told Wells Fargo (WFC) to shore up its balance sheet after stress tests showed WFC would have trouble surviving a deeper recession. This coming after WSJ reported Citi (C) may need to raise as much as $10B in new capital.
But with all that’s riding on the results, John Hempton at Bronte Capital wonders who’s leaking the results and what’s their motivation?
Things are looking bright on Wall Street, even if its raining outside, and it’s is supposed to rain all week. (after all, green shoots need rain, don’t they?)
The market got a couple of strong economic reports, materials stocks are spiking on economic news out of China, and the financials are on fire even as every journalist worth his salt is trying to divine just who did well on the so-called stress tests and who did better (remember, nobody fails, even if they need to raise $10 billion.)
Not even the global swine flu pandemic could derail stocks last week, and the gains keep piling up today.
US stocks remain higher today as investors react to another round of better-than-expected economic data as well as the pending bank stress test results, due out Thursday.
US construction spending rose in March for the first time in six months while pending sales of existing homes rose 3.2% for the month.
On this bright road to recovery, the stress tests on the nation’s 19 largest banks and the Chrysler bankruptcy mark two fundamental examples that clearly bear Obama administration’s stamp.
Unfortunately, the results to this point seem questionable.
The delay of the stress-test results to Thursday have created even more confusion among investors, who question who’s actually administering these tests – the government or the banks themselves.
US stocks looks like they’ll start the week off modestly higher, but this week could turn into quite the roller coaster, with a couple of corkscrews at the end.
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