Dow Jones is up above 7,000 again

On Thursday the Dow Jones industrial regained above the 7,000 level. The market was led by gains in General Electric (GE) and General Motors (GM). While Standard & Poor's Ratings Services downgraded GE’s credit rating from AAA to AA+ its were 12% higher Thursday.

The Dow Jones industrial average finished higher by 239.66 points, or 3.46%, at 7,170.06. The S&P 500 index was up 29.38 points, or 4.07%, at 750.74. NASDAQ composite index added 54.46 points, or 3.97%, to 1,426.10. NYSE breadth was 28-3 positive, while NASDAQ breadth was 22-5 positive. The dollar index was lower. Treasuries were higher. Gold and crude oil futures were also higher.

January business inventories fell 1.1%. February retail sales dropped a less than expected 0.1% thanks to high gasoline sales, and actually rose 0.7% excluding autos. Weekly initial jobless claims rose 9,000 to 654,000, while continuing claims rose 193,000 to a record 5,317,000.