Stocks continue September rally; Dow gains again

[September 11, 2010]  NEW YORK (AP) -- Stocks edged higher Friday, extending a rally that began nearly two weeks ago, as investors hold on to their newfound optimism about the economy.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 47 points in very light trading. It was the seventh day of gains out of the past eight for the index. Treasury prices eased as traders became more willing to take on risk.

Stocks have escaped their August doldrums and moved steadily higher in September thanks to a series of encouraging signals on the economy. The latest came Friday morning with a report that wholesale inventories shot up in July, a sign of confidence that retail sales will pick up.

"It's becoming more evident that confidence by consumers and the labor market is improving," said Tim Speiss, chairman of EisnerAmper's Personal Wealth Advisors practice. "It's tepid; It's weak; But it's progress."

The energy sector got a lift from a jump in oil prices. Oil climbed about 2 percent after a pipeline that delivers oil to Midwest refineries was shut down. Oil companies like Chevron Corp. and Schlumberger rose on the news.

The market's September rally has paused only once so far, when concerns resurfaced about European banks. European markets fluctuated Friday after a report that German banking giant Deutsche Bank is considering raising new cash through a stock sale.

Many of the recent improvements in economic indicators have been incremental, but given the deep pessimism about the economy that had set in during August even faint glimmers of hope on the job market and other parts of the economy like trade have been enough to please investors.

"There's been so much negativity that it doesn't take much in terms of data beating expectations to propel the market," said Hank Smith, chief investment officer at Haverford Investments.

The Dow rose 47.53, or 0.5 percent, to close at 10,462.77. That's the highest close since Aug. 10. But it's still only up 0.3 percent this year.

Broader indexes also rose. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 5.37, or 0.5 percent, to 1,109.55, while the Nasdaq composite index rose 6.28, or 0.3 percent, to 2,242.48.

About two stocks rose for every one that fell on the New York Stock Exchange, where consolidated volume was extremely low at 3.1 billion shares.

Even with their recent gains, most indexes had only modest advances for the week. The main culprit: a drop Tuesday spurred by worries over European banks. The Dow is up 0.1 percent for the week, the S&P is up 0.5 percent, and the Nasdaq is up 0.4 percent.

Bond prices dipped. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, rose to 2.79 percent from 2.76 percent late Thursday. Its yield is used to help set interest rates on mortgages and other consumer loans.

Oil rose $2.20, or 3 percent, to $76.45 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Chevron rose $1.46 to $78.82, while Schlumberger Ltd. rose 78 cents to $59.31.

[Associated Press; By STEPHEN BERNARD]

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