PortfolioCrafter - Market Commentary 12/18/07
December 18th, 2007 / 9:50 pm / by portfoliocrafter
Stocks gained Tuesday at the end of a rocky session that saw strong earnings from Goldman Sachs offset by concerns about how the credit market crisis will impact the economy.
The Dow Jones industrial average added 0.5 percent. The broader S&P 500 index added 0.6 percent. The tech-fueled Nasdaq composite gained 0.8 percent. Treasury prices were mixed. The dollar was lower against the euro but gained against the yen. Oil prices slipped and gold prices rose.
Stocks had risen through the mid morning thanks to earnings from Goldman Sachs and Best Buy and news that the European Central Bank made billions available to keep the banking system liquid.
But gains wavered throughout the afternoon, as some of the broader economic worries of recent weeks returned. Afternoon buying in technology and commodities gave the markets a leg up near the close.
Wednesday brings earnings from Morgan Stanley, the Mortgage Bankers’ Association’s latest mortgage purchases news and comments from Richmond Federal Reserve President Jeffrey Lacker.
All the best,
Manuel Jesus-Backus
The Portfolio Crafter
