So far, 2012 has been a swell year for investors, as stocks have taken off. Over the past week, we saw markets cheering a proposal by the International Monetary Fund to raise $600 billion in new funds to help it address the eurozone debt crisis. Strong earnings results from financial companies such as Goldman Sachs and Bank of America as well as tech bellwethers like IBM and Intel also helped drive stocks forward.
For the week, the Dow Jones Industrial Average
Top 3 Performing Sectors
Russell 3000 Sector | Weekly Price Change | Month-to-Date Price Change |
---|---|---|
Tech | 3.6% | 6.8% |
Financial | 2.2% | 6.9% |
Consumer Discretionary | 1.6% | 4.4% |
Source: S&P Capital IQ. Weekly price change is Jan. 13-Jan. 20. Monthly price change is Dec. 30-Jan. 20.
Before I even write this, let me emphasize that it is not a typo. Sears Holdings
So what turned it all around this week? First of all, CIT is reportedly resuming financing for Sears' vendors. Maybe more importantly, though, there was some pretty serious speculation that the two investors who already own most of the company -- Eddie Lampert and Bruce Berkowitz -- may buy out the whole darn thing and take the company private.
Representing the energy sector among the top performers was oil and natural gas explorer Venoco
Top 3 Performing Russell 3000 Companies
Company |
Weekly Price Change |
---|---|
Convio | 48% |
Sears Holdings | 46% |
Venoco | 37.7% |
Source: S&P Capital IQ. Weekly price change is Jan. 13-Jan. 20. Includes only companies with a market cap of $250 million or higher.
Also among the week's top performers were Cree
Skyworks, meanwhile, snagged its 21% weekly gain the old-fashioned way -- it topped analyst estimates on both the top and bottom line. And, of course, like Cree, it was riding the semiconductor-focused investor feeding frenzy during the week.
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