It was a strong day in the markets, as all three major indices were up about 1% thanks to positive job and housing data. Jobless claims fell to their lowest level since the middle of 2008 and pending home sales are at their highest since mid-2010. Italian bond auctions were a little shaky, selling less than hoped, but the interest rate on that debt was under the key 7% threshold at 6.98% and lower than the country paid last month at 7.56%.
In response, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEX: ^DJI) was todays best performer of the three major indices rising 1.12%, a 135-point gain. The Nasdaq gained 0.92% and the S&P 500 (INDEX: ^GSPC) closed up 1.07%, putting it back into positive territory and giving it a good shot of closing up overall for the year.
Inside the Dow, the biggest gainers were the two Wall Street banks, Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) and JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM), adding 3.3% and 2.4%, respectively. Good macro news both domestically and in Europe was bound to help the big banks, which have been volatile lately. Finishing in third was Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ) with a gain on 1.7% on no news. Well, almost no news, as the Delaware Supreme Court is unsealing a potentially embarrassing letter linked to the departure of former CEO Mark Hurd.
Also noteworthy were ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM), up 1.3%, and Chevron (NYSE: CVX), up 1.4%, which had better-than-average days with Iran stirring up trouble in the Middle East and an unanticipated U.S. inventory jump. Oil prices are sitting right under $100 a barrel at $99.70 and have an excellent chance of ending the year above triple digits.
All told, it appears the market is doing its best to close out 2011 on a positive note. If that's the case, let's hope it's one trend we see continue into the new year.
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