S&P 500 hits record
Monday, 16 July 2007
NEW YORK, July 15 (Reuters): The S&P 500 index (SPX) climbed to a record Friday, surpassing levels reached during the Internet bubble, as General Electric Company increased a stock-buyback plan and data showed improving consumer sentiment.
The Standard & Poor's 500's milestone came a day after a market rally in which the Dow industrials racked up their biggest one-day point-gain in more than four years. The S&P 500 also capped its best two weeks in 11 months.
The Dow crossed 13,900 for the first time and hit a lifetime high for a second straight day as GE roughly doubled its 2007 share buyback to US$14 billion, in a week that saw several major companies announcing multibillion-dollar share repurchase plans.
Optimism about economic growth, corporate takeovers and profits have helped the indexes hit record levels, analysts said.
"It's been a long time coming since we had the great bull market at the beginning of this decade," said Craig Hester, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Hester Capital Management in Austin, Texas. An S&P 500 level of "1,600 is now not out of possibility this year.
"What's powering this move is confidence in the earnings reports and massive amount of global liquidity from private equity and share buybacks," he said.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 45.52 points, or 0.33 per cent, to end at a record 13,907.25. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index gained 4.80 points, or 0.31 per cent, t finish at 1,552.50, also a record close. The Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 5.27 points, or 0.20 per cent, to close at 2,707.00.
The S&P 500 rose as high as 1,555.10. Its previous record of 1,553.11 was set on March 24, 2000, in the waning days of the Internet bubble.
The Dow hit an intraday record at 13,932.29. And the Nasdaq climbed as high as 2,707.64, its highest level in more than 6-1/2 years.
For the week, the Dow ended up 2.20 per cent, the S&P 500 rose 1.40 per cent and the Nasdaq gained 1.50 per cent.
Early in the session, the Reuters/University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers said consumer sentiment rose in early July to its highest in six months, beating economists' forecasts. The news offset investors' worries about the economy.
GE, which topped advancers in the S&P 500 index, also maintained its outlook for the third quarter. Shares of GE, the world's second-largest company by market capitalization, rose 1.30 per cent to $39.50 on the New York Stock Exchange.
The Standard & Poor's 500's milestone came a day after a market rally in which the Dow industrials racked up their biggest one-day point-gain in more than four years. The S&P 500 also capped its best two weeks in 11 months.
The Dow crossed 13,900 for the first time and hit a lifetime high for a second straight day as GE roughly doubled its 2007 share buyback to US$14 billion, in a week that saw several major companies announcing multibillion-dollar share repurchase plans.
Optimism about economic growth, corporate takeovers and profits have helped the indexes hit record levels, analysts said.
"It's been a long time coming since we had the great bull market at the beginning of this decade," said Craig Hester, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Hester Capital Management in Austin, Texas. An S&P 500 level of "1,600 is now not out of possibility this year.
"What's powering this move is confidence in the earnings reports and massive amount of global liquidity from private equity and share buybacks," he said.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 45.52 points, or 0.33 per cent, to end at a record 13,907.25. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index gained 4.80 points, or 0.31 per cent, t finish at 1,552.50, also a record close. The Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 5.27 points, or 0.20 per cent, to close at 2,707.00.
The S&P 500 rose as high as 1,555.10. Its previous record of 1,553.11 was set on March 24, 2000, in the waning days of the Internet bubble.
The Dow hit an intraday record at 13,932.29. And the Nasdaq climbed as high as 2,707.64, its highest level in more than 6-1/2 years.
For the week, the Dow ended up 2.20 per cent, the S&P 500 rose 1.40 per cent and the Nasdaq gained 1.50 per cent.
Early in the session, the Reuters/University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers said consumer sentiment rose in early July to its highest in six months, beating economists' forecasts. The news offset investors' worries about the economy.
GE, which topped advancers in the S&P 500 index, also maintained its outlook for the third quarter. Shares of GE, the world's second-largest company by market capitalization, rose 1.30 per cent to $39.50 on the New York Stock Exchange.