The Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEX: ^DJI) finished up today 0.37%, the third up day in a row.

Index

Change

Ending Value

Dow Jones Industrial Average +46.24 [+0.47%] 12,625.19
S&P 500 +6.46 [+0.49%] 1,314.50

Today's Top 3

  1. Today’s leader was Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) which finished up 2.35% [$0.16] to end the day at $6.96. The company reported positive earnings this morning, after which its stock rose as high as $7.29 early in the session before it gave away its gains as the day progressed. While the earnings weren't stupendous, they were enough to make Bank of America profitable over the past year.
  2. Alcoa (NYSE: AA) was second behind Bank of America today, finishing up 1.60% [$0.16] to end the day at $10.18. During the past two days, shares have rallied on the news of slowing Chinese GDP growth. While counterintuitive, this is positive as many believe this will lead to an easing of Chinese monetary policy and thus faster growth in the future.
  3. Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT) took third for the day, up 1.43% [$1.49] to end the day at $105.75. Like Alcoa, the shares have rallied the past two days on news of a possible easing of Chinese monetary policy.

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