Friends
Stocks had a very nice day fueled by a report out of Europe that the Europeans are attempting to create a “TARP” type “bailout” investment fund to deal with capital requirements of the European banks and possibly buy troubled European debt. Like former Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson, the Europeans are looking for that bazooka to be able to aim at the crisis. They scoffed at current Treasury Secretary Geithner last week when he went to visit, but it looks like they possibly have seen the light and realize they have to deal with this problem soon. Of course, who is going to provide the funds for the “bazooka” is yet to be determined.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 272 points and the S&P 500 was up a tasty 26 points to close at 1162. It seems like we were dancing below that 1120 level and dangerously close to the 1101 support level on the S&P just days ago. Oh, that’s right, it was just days ago. Things are moving very quickly these days and stocks react to any news that comes out of Europe.
Gold had another difficult day down around $20 after being down much more earlier in the day. Oil was up a little more than a $1 to trade back above $81 late in the day.
We’ll see if stocks can build on today’s move as the quarter comes to an end on Friday, but be aware that every rumor, good or bad, out of Europe can swing stocks for the time being. We’ll let you know how the week unfolds.
Have a nice evening everyone.
