Stocks, Dow Jones Industrial Average | featured news

Top investors stumble, but a strong fourth quarter pushes blue chips into the black. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 ends the year almost exactly where it started.

Stocks are surging following encouraging signs out of Europe and a jump in apartment building in the U.S. The Dow Jones industrial average jumped more than 300 points....

The Dow closed up 490.05 points, or 4.2%, to 12,045.68. It was the largest point and percentage advance since March 23, 2009, when the index shot up 497 points, or 6.8% -- just as the latest bull market was beginning.

The worst week for the stock market in two months ended with a whimper in thin trading Friday. The Dow Jones industrial average lost 4.8 percent this week, while the broader Standard & Poor’s 500 index fell 4.7 percent. Both had their worst weeks since Sept. 23.

U.S. stock futures are back up near Wednesday's opening price this morning as investors continue to focus firmly on Italy. Yesterday the Dow dropped almost 400 points as Italian bond yields surged past the 7% mark that is seen as the point of no return. At a time when the country has a lot of debt to refinance, borrowing costs are seen as unsustainable.

The Dow Jones industrial average closed up 339 points Thursday after European leaders unveiled a financial rescue plan and the data showed the U.S. economy growing at a faster clip in the third quarter than earlier in the year.

Wall Street celebrated Columbus Day with a 330-point buying binge on the Dow as traders around the world breathed a sigh of relief that European leaders pledged to bolster their banks and the markets look ahead to the start of earnings season.

McGraw-Hill is in advanced talks with CME Group to combine stock-market icons such as the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 into a joint venture.

The Dow Jones industrial average is closing with its biggest gain in nearly two weeks.

Stocks are edging higher following a four-week losing streak. The Dow Jones industrial average is up 23 points, or 0.2 percent, to 10,844 in midday trading Monday. It had been up as many as 203 points. The Dow fell 4 percent last week as worries deepened that the U.S. could slip into a recession. The S&P 500 rose less than a point to 1,124. The Nasdaq was up less than a point at 2,342.