Markets held their gains into the closing bell. Ken Meyers has the latest from Wall Street on the Acadiana Business Index.

  • The Dow Jones added 212 points in the session to close at 12,888, the S&P 500 gained 22 points to 1360 and the NASDAQ advanced 39 points to 2893.
  • Stocks rallied at the open on encouraging news out of Europe and positive U.S. economic data. In Europe, Central Bank President Mario Draghi said policy makers will do everything in their power to defend the euro, leading some to speculate on further bond buying. On our shores, economic data was mostly positive with weekly jobless claims and durable goods orders topping expectations.
  • All 10 sectors on the S&P finished higher, led by a rally in telecom stocks. Shares of Sprint added 66 cents to $4.03 after the company posted a better-than-expected earnings report.
  • Also among earnings, Whole Foods Market gained $9.57 to $94.10 and Visa advanced $4.57 to $126.77 following their quarterly reports. On the downside, shares of Dow Chemical fell $1.09 to $29.18 and Zynga shed $1.90 to $3.18 following their weaker-than-projected profit tallies.
  • Composite volume on the NYSE was 4.4 billion shares with advancing issues besting decliners by a margin of 11-4. The NASDAQ was 5-1 positive on issues.
  • Turning to fixed income, Treasuries were lower along the curve. The benchmark 10-year note was down 5/16 of a point to yield 1.44% and the 30-year bond gave up a point to yield 2.50%.

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