Stocks Rise as Investors Regain Bearings

November 11, 2011 11:34 AM EST
Stocks are riding high for the second straight session as financial turmoil in Europe eases and consumers in the U.S. feel more optimistic heading into the holidays.

Just ahead of the noon hour, the Dow is up 272 points, the Nasdaq is up 50 and the S&P 500 is up 26.

In Greece, Lucas Papademos was sworn in as the interim prime minister of a new coalition government. In Italy, the Senate approved an economic reform bill which will pave the way for Silvio Berlusconi to step down. Importantly, yields on Italian 10-year debt fell sharply after crossing the 7 percent threshold a few days ago. The yield was last at 6.49 percent.

In the U.S., the University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index rose from 60.9 in October to 64.2 in November. The Street was looking for a more modest gain to 61.5.

Friday's better-than-expected sentiment number follows Thursday's initial claims data which showed a drop below 400,000 to 390,000.

Dow component Disney (NYSE: DIS) is helping lead the way after posting strong fourth-quarter results. Revenue rose 7 percent from $9.74 billion in the fourth quarter of 2010 to $10.425 billion. Net income jumped 30 percent from $835 million in the year-ago quarter to $1.087 billion. Profit totaled 58 cents per share, up about 35 percent from 43 cents per share last year. Non-GAAP earnings came in at 59 cents per share.


Serious News for Serious Traders! Try StreetInsider.com Premium Free!

You May Also Be Interested In





Related Categories

Market Check

Related Entities

Standard & Poor's, University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index, Earnings