Dow Jones

Stocks fell in morning trading today after Alcoa disappointed Wall Street as it kicked off earnings season.
Overseas markets also mostly fell, reacting to China tightening its monetary policy and boosting bank reserve requirements, in addition to the worse-than-expected results from the world's biggest aluminum producer.
As one of the first companies in the Standard & Poor's 500 index to report quarterly results, Alcoa's earnings are often seen as a barometer for how companies will fare.

Stock futures are rising, pointing to a higher opening Monday, following strong gains in overseas markets.
Stocks are getting a lift globally after a new report showed Chinese exports jumped by nearly 18 percent in December. The bigger-than-expected increase follows 13 straight months of declines. The increase in exports has added confidence to investors who believe a global economic rebound is well under way.

Stocks rose Thursday after positive reports on unemployment and durable-goods orders showed the economy is continuing to recover. Major indexes all touched 2009 highs during the day.
A decline in the dollar also helped push energy and materials stocks higher. Trading was extremely light ahead of the Christmas holiday.
The encouraging signs for the labor market and consumer demand helped assuage investors, who had been disappointed the day before by an unexpected plunge in November new-home sales.

Stocks posted modest gains on light volume Thursday, buoyed by data reports showing a fall in initial jobless claims to their lowest level since September 2008 and a rise in durable goods orders.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average recently advanced 42 points, or 0.4%, to 10,509. The S&P 500 rose 4 points, or 0.4%, to 1125, as Nasdaq added 13 points, or 0.6%, to 2282. A positive close for the Dow would have the blue-chip index advancing in five straight sessions.

Stocks were flat Wednesday afternoon as the dollar gained strength against the euro, pressuring commodity prices.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 7.4 points, or 0.07%, to 10,278.6. The S&P 500 was down by 3.1 points, or 0.3%, at 1088.9 and the Nasdaq was down by 6.1 points, or 0.3%, at 2166.9.

U.S. stocks rose on Wednesday after a private-sector employment report showed an improvement from October and the S&P pushed through a key technical level.
U.S. private employers shed 169,000 jobs in November, fewer than 195,000 in October, but worse than forecasts for a decline of 155,000 jobs, according to the ADP National Employment private sector survey.
Gains on Wall Street accelerated after the S&P 500 punched through the 1,111 mark, which it has been unable to maintain in recent sessions.

U.S. stocks got a sharp growth, with the S&P on track to break a sell-off lasted for three days, after data showed existing home sales rose to their highest level in two-and-a-half years and investors were made believed by a Fed official's comments.
 The National Association of Realtors conducted a survey showed sales of previously owned U.S. homes rose 10.1 percent in October. The Dow Jones U.S. Home Construction index gained nearly 2 percent.

 According to Damon Vickers, chief investment officer of Nine Points Capital Partners, the US dollar is going to be "utterly destroyed" and become "virtually worthless" on the grounds of absence of real resources supporting the currency. He cited other countries as those who have real potential as they deal with exporting of real goods.