Economy Improving Helps Move Stocks Up

Jan. 29, 2010 - PRLog -- Technology and energy stocks were keeping the overall market in check this afternoon after a big runup at the open fell apart. The two groups offset better-than-expected reports on economic growth and consumer confidence and manufacturing in Chicago

Apple (AAPL) and Microsoft (MSFT) were the big weights on technology stocks, and energy shares were lower as crude dropped below $73 a barrel.

At 3 p.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average ($INDU), which had been up as many as 119 right after the open, was off 23 points to 10,098. The Nasdaq Composite Index ($COMPX) had lost 31 points to 2,148, and the Standard & Poor's 500 Index ($INX) was off 7 points to 1,077.  

The market is headed for its third straight weekly loss. The Dow will finish January down 3.3%, with the S&P 500 down 3.5% and the Nasdaq off 5.4%.

For those who view January as a guide to the market for the year, this is an ominous sign. The Stock Traders Almanac says January performance has missed the market's performance for the year only five times since 1950. One was last year, when the Dow fell 8.6% in January and finished up 18.8%.

Apple, down 4.2% to $190.95, was lower as enthusiasm faded about its new iPad device.  

Microsoft, the publisher of MSN Money, appeared to be the victim of good earnings not being good enough. Shares were down  4.9% to $27.74.

Gross domestic product rose at a 5.7% annual pace, the Commerce Department reported this morning, up from a 2.2% rise in the third quarter and the fastest pace in six years.

The economy picked up in the second half of the year, but the first half weighed on overall GDP. The economy shrank 2.4% in 2009, the worst drop since a 10.9% decline in 1946.

Manufacturing in the Chicago region expanded further in January, the Chicago Purchasing Managers Index showed today. The index rose to 61.5% in January from 58.7% in December. Readings above 50% indicate business expansion.

And the University of Michigan consumer sentiment survey was revised higher to a reading of 74.4 for January, a two-year high and better than economists' expectations for 74.3. The survey showed a 72.5 reading in December. By Elizabeth Strott and Charley Blaine, MSN.com.
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