New York, NY, United States (AHN) – One thing traders know for sure about the markets is to expect the unexpected.
So when the European Central Bank announced an unexpected rate cut Thursday, traders and investors were ready and reacted by pushing stocks sharply higher.
Just after the opening bell on Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 140 points, the Standard and Poor’s 500 Index rose 11 points, and the technology oriented NASDAQ climbed 18 points.
The European Central Bank cut interest rates by a quarter percentage point, helping markets both overseas and in the U.S. Also giving stocks a lift was expectations that the Greek referendum on the eurozone bailout would be abandoned.
Markets were thrown into turmoil Monday after a referendum proposal by Greece’s Prime Minister George Papandreou horrified the country’s international partners and creditors. It triggered market worries that Greece may default on its debts and exit the eurozone.
Giving U.S. stocks an added boost Thursday morning was better than expected jobs data that showed a modest decline in new claims for unemployment. Initial jobless claims fell by 9,000 to a seasonally adjusted 397,000 in the week ended Oct 29, the Labor Department reported.
Gold rallied to $30 to $1,760 a troy ounce and oil was up $1.23 to $93.75 a barrel.
View full post on All Stories
0 Comments until now