One sign of an optimistic stock market is when a morning plunge turns into a gain later in the day. That's exactly what happened early this afternoon. On a busy news day that included central bank rate cuts around the world, a version of quantitative easing in the U.K., and mixed economic news in the U.S., many analysts saw investors focusing on today's positive news from a report on private payroll figures. If that translates into a surprise in tomorrow's official government pronouncement on employment, it could push stocks higher. That optimism waned in the closing hours of trading, though, and the Dow Jones Industrials
More than half a dozen stocks closed higher on the day, however. Home Depot
McDonald's
Finally, Wal-Mart
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