Market Talk

US stocks rise for an eighth consecutive session, despite trading sharply lower in the morning, as a number of assets change direction midday.

DJIA gains 37 to 9581, after trading down as much as 85 in the morning; it’s the Dow’s longest winning streak since April 2007. S&P 500 rises 3 to 1031, Nasdaq Comp add 3 to 2028.

Stocks drop in the morning, even as 2Q GDP comes in still down just 1% and weekly jobless claims ease. Equities rise in the afternoon, though, as the dollar sells off and crude recovers.

Our three-minute rundown on the top stories is here.

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One thing you can say for the Dreamliner, it's still well grounded.

So, let me get this straight. Boeing’s (BA) 787 Dreamliner’s been delayed five times and is two years behind schedule. But the airliner proudly announces it expects the plane to fly by year’s end, and shares soar?

That was the case, today. Boeing shares closed up 8.4% at $51.82 as investors were delighted to see Boeing finally provide a clear-cut schedule and timeframe for its high-profile Dreamliner. It provided a stark contrast from the uncertainty created when Boeing previously delayed the flight. Newswires reporters Doug Cameron and Ann Keeton have the details:

The announcement resolves uncertainty created in June, when Boeing said a newly discovered structural flaw would force a delay but couldn’t say for how long. The new timetable wasn’t any worse than analysts had feared and builds in some room for further error.

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Certainly seems like stocks only go up these days, doesn’t it?

The Dow, which has rallied about 50% off the March lows, has posted seven consecutive days of gains and is poised today to extend the winning streak to eight. Better-than-expected earnings reports, optimistic economic data points and hopes of a bottoming housing market have fueled the rally, but determining whether this is the beginning of a sustainable economic recovery or just one big bear-market rally is the underlying question investors need to keep asking themselves.

Market observers have been saying the summer rally’s been overextended for weeks now, yet stocks have still managed to climb higher. Now, bearish sentiment among newsletter writers has fallen to its lowest level since October 2007, possibly marking “another classic sign of a toppy market,” LA Times Money & Co blogger Tom Petruno says.

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Fred Bell sure didn't see it coming.

If we hear one more person suggest that nobody could have seen the economic meltdown coming, we might actually turn violent. It’s becoming that inane.

When Ben Bernanke was nominated to a second term as chairman of the Federal Reserve earlier this week, he was given a pass by most everybody concerning the biggest gaping hole in his resume – that he missed the market meltdown.

Because, you know, nobody could have seen this coming. But the fact is, the signs were literally everywhere, as in for-sales signs outside homes across the nation. And anybody who was looking objectively could have easily seen it.

In 2006, I started looking for a home in New Jersey. I was stunned to see homes that had been in the $200,000-$250,000 range three or four years previous going for $500,000. Home prices had basically doubled in under five years.

That does not happen, ever. Right there, I knew something was wrong.

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US stock futures roughly flat premarket, following some weakness in Asian markets overnight, and in European stocks so far today.

Early tone should be influenced by two bits of economic data due at 8:30 – weekly jobless claims and second look at 2Q GDP. Initial claims expected to be down about 11,000, while revised GDP estimated to dip to negative 1.5% from initial negative 1% reading.

Kansas City Fed’s August manufacturing index due at 11:00am ET. Treasury auctions $28B in 7-yr notes at 1:00pm. Dell reports results after the close.

S&P futures up less than a point; DJ futures up 7. Ten-year slightly lower, yield at 3.45%.