The S&P 500 is up for a 4th day in a row. Jobless claims aren't as bad as feared. Google hits a new intraday high; Apple comes back from early lows. Gold finishes at an 11-month high. Coal stocks jump.
A soft jobs market is not the only reason for the sell-off in stocks and oil. Add in weak Hewlett-Packard results and economic weakening in Europe and China. Gold manages to end higher. New-home sales grind higher; housing stocks slip.
An 83-point loss for the Dow shrinks to 31 points as minutes show the Federal Reserve inching toward a new economic stimulus plan. Hewlett-Packard earnings beat estimates, despite soft PC sales. Dell sags. Housing shows some strength.
The blue chips just miss a close of 13,000 in a rally sparked by a decent report on jobless claims. Salesforce.com, AIG results cheer. Apple ponders what to do with $98 billion in cash. Speculators briefly push oil above $108.
Target's quarterly results fail to impress investors, while Sears announces plans to sell stores to raise cash.
Earnings from the big retailers and Dell, Hewlett-Packard and Target will signal if the big rally since October can continue. European financial ministers and Greece agree on terms of a rescue package. Rising oil prices are a threat.
The blue chips sag after an IMF offer to help nations caught up in Europe's woes proves limited. Hewlett-Packard sags on an earnings warning. Merck pays $950 million to settle Vioxx issues. Stocks look to open lower on Wednesday.
The computer maker will report quarterly results after the market closes. Alleghany says it will buy Transatlantic Holdings for $3.4 billion.
VIDEO ON MSN MONEY
DATA PROVIDERS
Copyright © 2013 Microsoft. All rights reserved.
Quotes are real-time for NASDAQ, NYSE and AMEX. See delay times for other exchanges.
Fundamental company data and historical chart data provided by Thomson Reuters (click for restrictions). Real-time quotes provided by BATS Exchange. Real-time index quotes and delayed quotes supplied by Interactive Data Real-Time Services. Fund summary, fund performance and dividend data provided by Morningstar Inc. Analyst recommendations provided by Zacks Investment Research. StockScouter data provided by Verus Analytics. IPO data provided by Hoover's Inc. Index membership data provided by SIX Financial Information.
Japanese stock price data provided by Nomura Research Institute Ltd.; quotes delayed 20 minutes. Canadian fund data provided by CANNEX Financial Exchanges Ltd.
TOP STOCKS
When it comes to efficiency gains, a watt saved is a watt earned.
MARKET DISPATCHES
The Market Dispatches column has been discontinued. Here's where to find the latest stock and business news on MSN Money, and the latest from market writer Charley Blaine.
FRUGAL COOL
Starting Monday, this site is joining forces with MSN Money Smart Spending. Here's why.
MONEY & POLITICS
Breaking up big banks is an untested solution to the too big to fail problem that attempts to isolate and dismantle large, troubled institutions while protecting the rest of the economy.
SMART SPENDING
Think saving money, paying bills, comparing prices and shopping for deals take way too much work? All of these can be done with very little effort on your part.
SMART TAXES
The IRS is struggling to combat identify thieves who file fraudulent tax returns in the names of older residents who don't need to file.
