<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR>Best 4-week Dow run in 76 years
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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->New York - Stocks in the United States kept up their resurgence despite grim job data as investors continued betting on an economic rebound.
This enabled the Dow Jones Industrial Average to post its best four-week winning streak in 76 years.
Last Friday, the Dow climbed 39.51 points, or 0.5 per cent, to 8,017.59 - its highest close since Feb 9, and lifting it by 3.1 per cent for the week.
That was the fourth straight week of gains, and at 21 per cent, the biggest advance for a four-week stretch since May 1933.
It could surge further this week if investors see more signs that the economic slump is abating and the earnings season does not get off to a rocky start.
Not even grisly job losses could get in the market's way last Friday. Analysts said the market took in stride the report showing a rise in the unemployment rate to 8.5 per cent as 663,000 jobs were shed.
Wall Street's newfound confidence kept swelling last week on better-than-expected economic data, a relaxation in bank accounting rules and reassurances from the world's finance leaders that they will keep propping up the global economy.
While many investors are looking ahead to an eventual recovery, others say Wall Street might be just as short-sighted now as it was when it was panicking. Potential pitfalls lie ahead not just for the job market, but also in corporate earnings reports and outlooks that start pouring in this week. AP, AFP
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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->New York - Stocks in the United States kept up their resurgence despite grim job data as investors continued betting on an economic rebound.
This enabled the Dow Jones Industrial Average to post its best four-week winning streak in 76 years.
Last Friday, the Dow climbed 39.51 points, or 0.5 per cent, to 8,017.59 - its highest close since Feb 9, and lifting it by 3.1 per cent for the week.
That was the fourth straight week of gains, and at 21 per cent, the biggest advance for a four-week stretch since May 1933.
It could surge further this week if investors see more signs that the economic slump is abating and the earnings season does not get off to a rocky start.
Not even grisly job losses could get in the market's way last Friday. Analysts said the market took in stride the report showing a rise in the unemployment rate to 8.5 per cent as 663,000 jobs were shed.
Wall Street's newfound confidence kept swelling last week on better-than-expected economic data, a relaxation in bank accounting rules and reassurances from the world's finance leaders that they will keep propping up the global economy.
While many investors are looking ahead to an eventual recovery, others say Wall Street might be just as short-sighted now as it was when it was panicking. Potential pitfalls lie ahead not just for the job market, but also in corporate earnings reports and outlooks that start pouring in this week. AP, AFP
