As long as Europe faces a crisis, the Dow Jones Industrial Average
Obviously, the importance of the housing recovery to our economy cannot be underestimated. While a full-blown recovery has yet to gain traction, an uptick in home sales is a positive sign. Pending home sales in the U.S. exceeded expectations, compensating for a 5.5% decline in April with a 5.9% May increase that matches its two-year high. We'll find out in a couple of months whether these sales actually go through, but willing consumers are perhaps a reason for optimism in this sector.
The manufacturing sector received a solid boost today as well. Five days after the sector received news of a slowdown in China and a slump in the Philadelphia area, durable-goods orders climbed 1.1%, outstripping the 0.5% gain that analysts expected. BMO Capital Markets senior economist Jennifer Lee cautioned that "U.S. growth will be moderate," but expressed relief that "businesses aren't completely cutting back."
However, not even these positives could save Dow components Alcoa
In the meantime, today's big winners primarily rode general market optimism to big gains. Investors appear bullish on Coca-Cola's prospects in the largely untapped market of India, and its shares rose over 1% during the morning. Coca-Cola aims to bolster the average Indian's consumption from 12 eight-ounce bottles per year closer to the global average of 90. Next up was Disney
Seemingly inseparable from recent news in the banking sector, JPMorgan
That's all for today's morning roundup. Make sure to add these companies to your free My Watchlist feature to get up-to-date analysis whenever news breaks. To get started, click on any company below:
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