本文发表在 rolia.net 枫下论坛* OCTOBER 28, 2008, 1:09 P.M. ET
Stocks regained some momentum Tuesday after earlier being tripped up by a rock-bottom reading of U.S. consumer confidence.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average, which was up 331 points at its morning high, recently traded 200 points higher, up 2.4%, at 8375.53.
Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange October 28, 2008. U.S. stocks rose at the open on Tuesday as investors snapped up beaten-down shares and bet that credit markets would see a further thaw, overshadowing worries about the global recession.
Rallies in overseas shares and favorable news at two blue-chip companies boosted market participants' mood early in the session. Some of that enthusiasm has lingered, although many players remain on the sidelines, trying to discern how deep and how long the global economy's slowdown will run.
"The market is moving around right now, but there's absolutely no liquidity," said Michael Davis, an independent trader active in Treasury and stock-index futures at the Chicago Board of Trade. "The investment banks aren't playing right now," due to their recent struggles to survive.
Shares of Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs Group were down 11% and 6%, respectively.
At the same time, the stock market has often been plagued by forced selling among hedge-funds and other deep-pocket players, who have to raise cash to cover margin calls as the market goes down. While such activity has often produced avalanches of selling lately, some veteran investors are still looking for a one-time market plunge, accompanied by big volume, to confirm that the forced selling has truly run its course, paving the way for a more sustained rally.
"There are still people hanging on by their fingernails who need to be moved into the sell column," said Michael Farr, president of the Washington money-management firm Farr, Miller & Washington. "I'm a buyer in waiting. I know what I want to buy, but I haven't seen the wash-out that I want to see first."
An overnight surge in Asian and European stocks set an upbeat tone prior to the opening bell in New York. Rebounding from a round of painful losses in the previous session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index leapt 14.4% and Tokyo's Nikkei 225 Index climbed 6.4%.
Big gains in Dow components General Motors and Boeing have also spurred the blue-chip average higher on Tuesday.
GM was the strongest gainer among Dow components, up 9% on reports that the government may approve loans that could clear the way for the troubled auto maker to merge with ailing rival Chrysler. Boeing rose 4% after reaching a tentative labor agreement with its largest union that could end a costly strike.
The S&P 500 was recently up 2%, trading at 866.14, led by a 5.4% rise in its basic materials sector. The technology-focused Nasdaq Composite Index rose 1.4% to 1526.56.
Weak economic data have put a damper on stocks as the session has played out. The Conference Board said its consumer-confidence index fell to a reading of 38 in October, a record low that was also far worse than the average forecast of economists for a reading of 51.5.
Traders are also keeping a close eye on the Federal Reserve, whose interest-rate committee began a two-day meeting in Washington on Tuesday. Most market participants expect a half-point cut in the Fed's key rate target, which now stands at 1.5%. The U.S. central bank rarely makes announcements on the first day of a two-day meeting, but after this month's global coordinated rate cut, traders are on alert for an early move.
The Fed's counterparts around the world are also weighing further moves to prop up their respective economies. European Central Bank Jean-Claude Trichet said Monday that another Europe rate cut was "possible," and Bank of England Governor Mervyn King recently admitted for the first time that the United Kingdom was likely in recession. Troubled Iceland on Tuesday raised its interest rates by six percentage points to 18%.
Currency moves by Australia, as well as reports that Singapore and Malaysia also intervened to help their currencies, also cheered investors. Japan moved up its restrictions on so-called naked short-selling by a week.
The dollar rallied against the euro, yen, and British pound. The U.S. Dollar Index, which measures the greenback's value against a basket of six foreign denominations, was recently up 0.4%.
Oil futures were flat at $63.20 a barrel in New York. Gold contracts slipped $5.90 to $737 per ounce. The broad Dow Jones-AIG Commodity Index was up 0.6%.
Treasury prices fell. The two-year note was off 3/32, yielding 1.581%. The benchmark 10-year note slipped 29/32 to yield 3.795%.
Write to Peter A. McKay at peter.mckay@wsj.com.更多精彩文章及讨论，请光临枫下论坛 rolia.net
Stocks regained some momentum Tuesday after earlier being tripped up by a rock-bottom reading of U.S. consumer confidence.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average, which was up 331 points at its morning high, recently traded 200 points higher, up 2.4%, at 8375.53.
Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange October 28, 2008. U.S. stocks rose at the open on Tuesday as investors snapped up beaten-down shares and bet that credit markets would see a further thaw, overshadowing worries about the global recession.
Rallies in overseas shares and favorable news at two blue-chip companies boosted market participants' mood early in the session. Some of that enthusiasm has lingered, although many players remain on the sidelines, trying to discern how deep and how long the global economy's slowdown will run.
"The market is moving around right now, but there's absolutely no liquidity," said Michael Davis, an independent trader active in Treasury and stock-index futures at the Chicago Board of Trade. "The investment banks aren't playing right now," due to their recent struggles to survive.
Shares of Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs Group were down 11% and 6%, respectively.
At the same time, the stock market has often been plagued by forced selling among hedge-funds and other deep-pocket players, who have to raise cash to cover margin calls as the market goes down. While such activity has often produced avalanches of selling lately, some veteran investors are still looking for a one-time market plunge, accompanied by big volume, to confirm that the forced selling has truly run its course, paving the way for a more sustained rally.
"There are still people hanging on by their fingernails who need to be moved into the sell column," said Michael Farr, president of the Washington money-management firm Farr, Miller & Washington. "I'm a buyer in waiting. I know what I want to buy, but I haven't seen the wash-out that I want to see first."
An overnight surge in Asian and European stocks set an upbeat tone prior to the opening bell in New York. Rebounding from a round of painful losses in the previous session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index leapt 14.4% and Tokyo's Nikkei 225 Index climbed 6.4%.
Big gains in Dow components General Motors and Boeing have also spurred the blue-chip average higher on Tuesday.
GM was the strongest gainer among Dow components, up 9% on reports that the government may approve loans that could clear the way for the troubled auto maker to merge with ailing rival Chrysler. Boeing rose 4% after reaching a tentative labor agreement with its largest union that could end a costly strike.
The S&P 500 was recently up 2%, trading at 866.14, led by a 5.4% rise in its basic materials sector. The technology-focused Nasdaq Composite Index rose 1.4% to 1526.56.
Weak economic data have put a damper on stocks as the session has played out. The Conference Board said its consumer-confidence index fell to a reading of 38 in October, a record low that was also far worse than the average forecast of economists for a reading of 51.5.
Traders are also keeping a close eye on the Federal Reserve, whose interest-rate committee began a two-day meeting in Washington on Tuesday. Most market participants expect a half-point cut in the Fed's key rate target, which now stands at 1.5%. The U.S. central bank rarely makes announcements on the first day of a two-day meeting, but after this month's global coordinated rate cut, traders are on alert for an early move.
The Fed's counterparts around the world are also weighing further moves to prop up their respective economies. European Central Bank Jean-Claude Trichet said Monday that another Europe rate cut was "possible," and Bank of England Governor Mervyn King recently admitted for the first time that the United Kingdom was likely in recession. Troubled Iceland on Tuesday raised its interest rates by six percentage points to 18%.
Currency moves by Australia, as well as reports that Singapore and Malaysia also intervened to help their currencies, also cheered investors. Japan moved up its restrictions on so-called naked short-selling by a week.
The dollar rallied against the euro, yen, and British pound. The U.S. Dollar Index, which measures the greenback's value against a basket of six foreign denominations, was recently up 0.4%.
Oil futures were flat at $63.20 a barrel in New York. Gold contracts slipped $5.90 to $737 per ounce. The broad Dow Jones-AIG Commodity Index was up 0.6%.
Treasury prices fell. The two-year note was off 3/32, yielding 1.581%. The benchmark 10-year note slipped 29/32 to yield 3.795%.
Write to Peter A. McKay at peter.mckay@wsj.com.更多精彩文章及讨论，请光临枫下论坛 rolia.net