Dow Hits Record as Fed Trims Stimulus as Economy Improves

[Purveyor]

Source: Bloomberg

By Joseph Ciolli and Lu Wang Apr 30, 2014 5:11 PM ET

U.S. stocks rose, sending the Dow (INDU) Jones Industrial Average to a record, as the Federal Reserve said it would continue to trim the pace of bond purchases as the economy gains momentum.

Facebook Inc. jumped 2.8 percent as Internet stocks recovered from earlier losses. Pepco Holdings Inc. climbed 17 percent after Exelon Corp. agreed to buy it. Twitter Inc. dropped 8.6 percent after saying user growth slowed. EBay Inc. (EBAY) fell 5 percent after the biggest online marketplace forecast sales that trailed some analysts’ estimates.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index increased 0.3 percent to 1,883.95 at 4 p.m. in New York, ending April with a 0.6 percent gain, its third straight monthly advance. The Dow climbed 45.47 points, or 0.3 percent, to 16,580.84, topping the previous closing record reached Dec. 31. The Nasdaq Composite Index added 0.3 percent, after an earlier drop of 0.8 percent. About 6.9 billion shares changed hands on U.S. exchanges, in line with the three-month average.

“The Fed seems to be putting aside the weakness in the first quarter that the market reacted to this morning,” Walter Todd, who oversees about $975 million as chief investment officer at Greenwood Capital Associates LLC, said in a phone interview. “The statement seems business as usual, and perhaps if you’d seen the Fed react more dovish to a weaker first quarter, that would’ve been more negative.”

Read more: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-04-30/u-s-stock-index-futures-fall-on-twitter-ebay-earnings.html

[Thor_MN]

1. But, but, Turtleman was blathering about the horrible failures over the last several years

They were his reason for paying crappy wages...

[ballyhoo]

2. Sell in May and go away.....

[laurent]

3. Right. The whole thing is overvalued and teetering. NT

[ballyhoo]

4. So this year the US goes to

No. 2 in GDP for the first time since 1872. Never thought I'd see it in my lifetime. Then the currency bill takes effect July 1, 2014. The question is not if the US loses reserve currency status--but when? I hope it's goes to a basket and not the Renminbi. It looks like monopoly money. There's other things on the horizon...like have you seen food prices. I had to eat at McDonalds today because of low blood sugar and nowhere else around. I bought a special hamburger and a medium diet pepsi. $7.52. My dog food for my dogs cost $2.99 a day. Feeds two small dogs twice. Anyway, I pulled out of the market and switched to junk bonds in an MF that has yielded above 5.5 per cent annually for like 22 years except 2007-2008. I presume you have some idea what is getting ready to happen. I do.

[1000words]

5. "Let us sing a song of cheer again..."

[sendero]

6. Misleading headline..

....should read "Stocks Rise on Unexpected Low GDP Because it Will Force the FED to Continue QE".....

Fixed it for you.