Stocks continued their November rally Wednesday, as investors interpreted moderating oil prices and a relatively upbeat consumer-confidence reading as evidence that the economy is regaining its equilibrium.
Lifted by what the market-analysis firm Briefing.com called a “bullish bias” that dominated trading, the popular indexes moved higher for a fifth consecutive day.
And with just one trading day left in this holiday-shortened week, stocks also appear poised to ring up a gain for the fifth straight week.
“The good times continue on Wall Street,” said A.G. Edwards market strategist Albert Goldman.
“Investors can give thanks,” he said, “for a rally that has pushed the Dow into positive territory for the year and lifted the Standard & Poor’s 500 to its best monthly performance in almost two years.”
In a slow news week that has provided Wall Street with relatively few corporate earnings or economic reports to mull over, investors focused Wednesday on a stronger-than-expected result in the University of Michigan’s monthly consumer-confidence survey.
In addition, the market, and in particular financial stocks, continued to respond positively to Tuesday’s release of the minutes from the Federal Reserve’s Nov. 1 interest-rate policy meeting, in which many observers found hints that the Fed’s interest-rate-hike program might end sooner rather than later.
Wednesday’s action: The Dow Jones industrial average, which this month broke through the upper level of the trading range that has constrained it for most of 2005, moved still higher. The blue-chip index was up as much as 79 points during the afternoon, then eased to end the day with a gain of 44.66 points, to 10,916.09.
McDonald’s shares were the Dow’s biggest gainer, rising 2.2 percent, to $33.71, as the Oak Brook-based fast-food giant kicked off a marketing push centered on its new Arch Card convenience card.
Dow components American Express, Citigroup and insurer American International also enjoyed solid gains, riding the updraft that financial stocks have enjoyed this week.
The broader Standard & Poor’s 500 index closed up 4.38, to 1265.61.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index rose 6.42 points, to 2259.98.
Forest products-maker Pope & Talbot’s long-depressed shares jumped 14 percent, to $7.89, after Wall Street decided a U.S.-Canada lumber ruling by NAFTA officials could end up being a positive for the Portland, Ore., company.
Steel shines: An offshore takeover effort sent shares of American steelmakers higher. After Europe’s Arcelor launched an unsolicited $3.75 billion bid for Canada-based Dofasco, U.S. investors began bidding up domestic steel companies, betting that the industry might be getting ready for a new round of consolidation.
Shares of U.S. Steel rose 2.5 percent, to $40.77, while rival AK Steel jumped 7.8 percent, to $8.03. Lisle-based steel producer Ipsco rose 4.3 percent, to a 52-week high close of $77.96.
Other markets: Treasury bonds eased slightly, with the 10-year note declining 11/32, to yield 4.47 percent. Some observers attributed the weakness to a disappointing response to the government’s Wednesday auction of $20 billion of two-year Treasury notes.
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In New York Mercantile Exchange trading, crude oil for January delivery slipped 13 cents, to $58.71 a barrel, after a government report indicated the nation’s fuels inventory is in reasonable shape.
Local stocks: Motorola shares climbed 2.6 percent, to a 52-week high close of $24.62, on unusually heavy volume. A Banc of America analyst reiterated a positive take on the cell phone-handset sector in general and on industry players, including Schaumburg-based Motorola, Nokia and Qualcomm.
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