Dow Hits Top Quarterly Result in 11 Years

[sabra]

Source: WSJ Money

Stocks stayed volatile Wednesday, but weak economic data couldn't stop the best quarterly gains on the Dow since 1998.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 31 points, closing at 9712. Despite the volatile day, the Dow finished the third quarter of the year up 15%, the best showing since the fourth quarter of 1998. The Nasdaq shed 2, staying near flat at 2122. The S&P 500 closed down 4 at 1056.

The September Chicago purchasing managers' index (PMI) was unexpectedly lower, coming in at 46.1 after reaching 50.0 in August. Standard & Poor's expected the index to rise to 51.0, notching a second month of continuing economic strength.

The pace of economic decline slowed again in the second quarter, according to the Commerce Department's latest report on gross domestic product, but August job losses were higher than expected, payroll processor Automatic Data Processing and Macroeconomic Advisors reported.

Ahead of the open, the Dow was up 15.3% for the quarter, its best quarterly performance for the period since 1998. The Dow also is on track to defy tradition by clocking gains for September, a month in which stocks over the long term have shown an average decline of more than 1%. The average is up 2.6% for the month.

Read more: http://www.smartmoney.com/investing/stocks/market-update-wednesday-sep-30-2009-19702/

[Jackpine Radical]

1. This is all cool and a nice in-your face way to showcase the disaster of the Bush years, but

the market is not the economy, and anyone who thinks this means we're out of the economic woods is in for a big surprise. In fact, I think we're in a worldwide mess that will continue until we finally admit the depths of the problem and redesign the entire show by building a whole new, green and sustainable infrastructure. For example, part of the nice market numbers is related to lower gas prices. But the lower prices are due to lowered demand, not because we've discovered some solution to the long-term problem. Climate change isn't going away, and there will be worldwide famine problems coming from that. People are still unemployed, and new jobs are not suddenly showing up out of nowhere.

[nc4bo]

2. More truthful words were never spoken. nt

[PSPS]

5. "nice market numbers"

...part of the nice market numbers is related to lower gas prices.

Actually, that has nothing to do with it at all. The truth is encapsulated in the first sentence from the OP:

Stocks stayed volatile Wednesday, but weak economic data couldn't stop the best quarterly gains on the Dow since 1998.

In other words, there's no rational reason for stock prices at all. "Weak economic data" is a polite way of saying "bad economic data." What this shows is that the stock market is nothing but a casino -- rigged to benefit those on the inside with their front running and other schemes to churn stocks and "make money."

This is Obama's "bubble." The $13 trillion he's shoveled into the pockets of wall street and the banksters is merely the grease to keep it going. But there's no indication that the economy is improving at all, unless you're the recipient of part of that $13 trillion.

[TheWatcher]

3. Actually it's Wall Street's Nice, Cool way of getting in OUR Faces and saying

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHA. We Got Ours. Fuck You Peasants. Thanks For The Bail Out. Suckers."

Big Money Got A Heavy Hand
Big Money Take Control

Big Money Got A Mean Streak
Big Money.....

Got No Soul.....

-Rush

[Uben]

4. The current economy is being supported by the stimulus package

...and only half the money has been spent. Government spending is the only indicator in the positive. So, it looks like we may hold on for another five or six months, but look for another dip around spring. WIthout jobs and consumer spending, we are going nowhere fast!