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Apple Inc. will join the Dow Jones Industrial Average on March 18, replacing AT&T Inc., in the first reshuffling since September 2013. Apple holds a market capitalization of about US$736 billion, making it the largest publicly traded company in the world. AT&T, by contrast, has a market value of US$176.5 billion. Shares of Apple were higher in early trading, gaining 1.3% to US$128.02, while AT&T’s shares fell 1.3% to US$33.55. The changes will push the number of technology-related companies in the 30-member gauge to six and boost their influence even more as the tech giant joins Microsoft Corp., Intel Corp.,...

* U.S. Stocks Close Higher *Nasdaq Composite Closes Above 5000 For First Time Since March 2000 *DJIA, S&P 500 End at Fresh Records The Nasdaq Composite climbed above the 5000-point level for the first time in almost 15 years on Monday, another milestone in the revival of an index that once was synonymous with dot-com excess but now reflects a broad swath of global technology, consumer, health-care and financial firms. The Nasdaq Composite, which tracks the prices of the 2,571 companies on the Nasdaq Stock Market, briefly topped 5000 at 10:30 a.m. EST. It was the first time the index...

Thhe Dow Jones Industrial Average topped the 18,000 level for the first time ever on Tuesday. That's quite a feat, made all the more impressive by the way it happened, coming out of the early December weakness. Up for five days in a row, the Dow has surged 1,000 points in just one week. Historically, December is the best single month of the year for large-cap stocks — Santa Claus rallies and all that good cheer. And the market has been demonstrating some remarkable consistency lately, with the S&P 500 rising for 29 consecutive days coming out of the October...

Stocks are pushing further into record territory as the Dow Jones industrial average tops 18,000 points for the first time. Traders have been encouraged by signs of strength in the U.S. economy and reassurances that the Federal Reserve won't interest rates soon. There was more encouraging news early Tuesday as the U.S. government reported that the economy powered ahead at a 5 percent annual rate in the third quarter. That was the fastest pace in more than a decade. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 43 points, or 0.2 percent, to 18,003 as of 9:35 a.m. Easter. The Standard &...

One of the great myths about investing that we’re told by the mainstream investment education is that we should “buy and hold” for the long term.I remember being taught in a personal finance class long ago that I should just buy the S&P 500 index, walk away, and that years later I will have achieved huge gains.The premise is that over a long period of time, it doesn’t really matter at what point you get in and out. The long-term trend of the stock market portends that you will make money.It’s those kinds of investing myths that become axiomatic through...

The stock market rose on Tuesday, sending the Dow Jones industrial average and Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index to new nominal closing highs. Pharmaceutical and medical equipment stocks were among the biggest gainers. A positive outlook from homebuilders and encouraging news from Japan and Germany also helped lift markets. KEEPING SCORE The Dow rose 40.07 points, or 0.2 percent, to 17,687.82. The S.&P. 500 added 10.48 points, or 0.5 percent, to 2,051.80. The Nasdaq composite index gained 31.44 points, or 0.7 percent, to 4,702.44. THE QUOTE “The broad equity market is in holiday mode,” said Terry Sandven, chief equity strategist...

It was a big round-number day for the stock market. The Standard & Poor's 500 index closed a hair above 2,000 points Tuesday, 16 years after it finished above 1,000 for the first time. The move extended the stock index's record-shattering run this year. The latest milestone comes as investors see new signs that the economy is strengthening, a driver of stronger company earnings. "There's perhaps a small psychological boost when you get over such a significant price level," said Cameron Hinds, regional chief investment officer at Wells Fargo Private Bank. U.S. stocks, in the midst of a five-year rally,...

If you kept your money in the stock market this summer, you're likely feeling pretty smart now. The start of August was rough for stocks as the Russia-Ukraine standoff, the Israel-Gaza conflict and terrorist group activity in Iraq all flared again. While serious problems remain in each of these regions, their impact on the U.S. economy so far has been limited. A stock market bounce back is in full effect. On Thursday, the Dow closed above the 17,000 mark for the first time since July 24. Not to be outdone, the S&P 500 set a new all-time high of just...

Yesterday, the S&P and Nasdaq bounced hard off the pre-payrolls level from Aug 1st. From the moment US cash equity markets closed yesterday, stocks have been dropping back. But now, thanks to this: SIKORSKI: RUSSIAN UNITS POISED TO PRESSURE OR INVADE UKRAINE SIKORSKI: RUSSIAN INCURSION WOULD BE HUGE ESCALATION OF CRISIS SIKORSKI WARNS RUSSIA ON IMPACT OF CONVENTIONAL WAR IN EUROPE The Dow, S&P and now Nasdaq have tumbled below yesterday's lows, eradicating all the post-payrolls gains in stocks. Treasury yields are tumbling (5bps off highs) and gold and silver and rising. All payrolls gains gone...

1853, 1906, 1929, 1969, 1999 Pass the question around your office. Call your money manager and ask him or her, too. Post it on your office notice board. Give up? Those were the peaks of the five massive, generational stock-market bubbles in U.S. history. Investors who bought into stocks around those peaks ended up earning terrible returns over the subsequent 30 years. Forget “stocks for the long run.” They ended up with “stocks for a long face.” The bigger the bubble, the worse returns. And, according to a new research report, we are back there again. U.S. stocks are now...

<p>NEW YORK (Reuters) - Wall Street's holiday-shortened session ended with multiple records on Thursday, with the Dow topping 17,000 for the first time after the June jobs report came in much stronger than expected.</p> <p>Both the Dow and S&P 500 ended at their third consecutive record highs. The Nasdaq ended at its highest since 2000 and rose for a third straight week. The three major indexes wrapped up a week of solid gains on the day before the Independence Day holiday, when the U.S. stock market will be closed.</p>

The Dow closed at a record high, just short of the 17,000-point milestone, as stocks surged on Tuesday after reports of expansion in U.S. manufacturing and better-than-expected sales for major U.S. automakers. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended unofficially 129 points higher at 16,956.07, eclipsing its June 20 record of 16,947.08. The S&P 500 also closed at a record high, climbing 13 points to 1973.32, and the Nasdaq added 50 points, or more than 1.1 percent. Tuesday's economic reports had the Institute for Supply Management's manufacturing index coming in at 55.3 in June, nearly unchanged from May's 55.4 reading.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks finished nearly flat on Tuesday, although the Dow eked out another record closing high as utilities' shares fell while 10-year bond yields hit their highest level in a month. Six of the 10 primary S&P 500 sector indexes ended the session lower. The decline was led by a 0.3 percent drop in the S&P utilities index (.SPLRCU). Utility stocks' high dividends tend to lose some of their appeal when bond yields jump. It was the Dow's fourth straight record closing high. The S&P 500, though, broke its four-day string of record high finishes. The...

The Dow Jones industrial average closed at an all-time high Wednesday as the good narrowly outweighed the bad for the stock market. After investors took in some solid U.S. company earnings, the latest move from the Federal Reserve and a report of unexpectedly weak economic growth in the first quarter, the stock market managed its third straight day of gains. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 45.47 points, or 0.3 percent, to 16,580.84, four points above its previous record set on Dec. 31. It was the first day the index closed in positive territory for the year. The Standard &...

So this is the 3rd time today I heard that the Dow only dropped 100 popints but should have dropped 400 points. Or so the news reader on the radio has been saying, i am a bit confused about this? What exactly are they trying to say? Are they insinuationg that the economy is rigged, which we all know to be true...

The S&P 500 closed at a new record high, its eighth of the year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average just missed closing at a new record, falling short by a mere 3 points. A late afternoon rally helped power the indexes down the stretch, with the Nasdaq closing higher as well. But a record close for the S&P 500 at 1,890.90 was far from a sure thing during much of the session as stocks gained then retreated several times. Investors will now turn their attention to Friday's much anticipated March unemployment report. Today, they kept a close eye on this...

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Dow and the S&P 500 closed at all-time highs on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve announced a small reduction in its stimulus program, confirming that the U.S. economy was on firm footing.

The Dow rallied more than 100 points to close above the 16000 mark for the first in history amid optimism the Fed will keep its foot firmly on the economic accelerator. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) rose 109 points, or 0.69%, to 16010, the S&P 500 (GSPC) advanced 14.5 points, or 0.81%, to 1796 and the Nasdaq Composite (IXIC) gained 47.9 points, or 1.2%, to 3969. Wall Street has rallied in a big way this year. The Dow is up more than 22%, and has rallied 145% since its bear-market low in March 2009.

Stocks ended modestly higher Thursday after Federal Reserve chair nominee Janet Yellen indicated in a Senate hearing that she will continue to support the economy with stimulus measures. Investors were encouraged and sent the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 to new records. The Dow is now just 1% from hitting 16,000, while the S&P 500 is less than 1% from 1,800.

Dow Jones says a goal of the 30-stock index is to capture the pulse of the broader economy. So why replace a rebounding Bank of America with Goldman Sachs? In the biggest change of the 30-stock index in nearly a decade, three companies will be replaced on the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Alcoa, Bank of America, and Hewlett-Packard are out, Nike, Goldman Sachs, and Visa (V) are in. The shake-up partly reflects declining fortunes and share prices, but the timing and reasons are nonetheless curious when we look at the departure of Bank of America (BAC). Like other big banks,...