Good News, Stock Market | featured news

Faced with Facebook, Starbucks and Angela Merkel, the market chose to focus on Merkel. For a second day, the U.S. stock market powered higher after European leaders, including German chancellor Merkel, pledged to protect the union of 17 countries that use the euro. The Dow Jones industrial average blew past 13,000, a key psychological marker that it hadn't hit since early May.

Markets and the euro rose after Mario Draghi reportedly told a conference in London that the central bank would “do whatever it takes to preserve” the currency.

Stocks rallied Wednesday, with the S&P 500 touching its highest level since early May, as corporate profits from bellwethers like Intel and Honeywell defied the market's worst fears.

Stocks rose Wednesday, as investors watched Fed Chief Bernanke deliver the semi-annual "Monetary Policy Report to the Congress" before the House Financial Services Committee.

News that European leaders will take action aimed at quelling the debt crisis that has been plaguing the continent for more than two years unleashed a global rally that sent U.S. markets roaring more than 2% higher. However, Wall Street still capped the second quarter in the red.

Stocks ticked up after Monday's global selloff, as a measure of home prices fell less than expected. The S&P 500 rose five points, or 0.4%, to 1319 in mid-afternoon trade. The index's consumer discretionary sector advanced 1.3%, on track for its steepest daily climb since June 14.

Stocks closed out its best week of the year Friday, as investors played things close to the vest before the weekend when Spain is expected to request aid for its troubled banks.

Stocks soared Tuesday, as investors welcomed a slew of solid earnings and after a German investor confidence survey surprised on the upside and Spanish benchmark yields eased.

U.S. stocks rose on Wednesday after an encouraging start to earnings season helped equities rebound from five days of losses that pushed the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq below key technical levels.

Wall Street closed out its strongest quarter in nearly three years Friday, leaving investors wondering if the market can continue to deliver strong gains in the weeks and months ahead.