Stocks up on good production news
First Posted:
The Associated Press
NEW YORK — Investors barreled into stocks Wednesday after an upbeat report on industrial production raised hopes that the economy is strengthening.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose to another high for the year as General Electric and International Business Machines jumped. It was the market’s eighth gain in nine days.
The central bank’s report that industrial activity surged 0.8 percent in August topped expectations. The Fed also said the improvement in industrial production for July was twice what it had initially reported.
The industrial report and rising commodity prices lifted shares of manufacturing companies like aluminum producer Alcoa Inc.
Other big gains came from financial stocks, which have been building momentum as they push above certain price levels watched by traders. Bank of America Corp. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. rose more than 2 percent.
The advance comes even as analysts warn that stocks are due for a correction. Money has been flowing into stocks as some professional investors rush to keep with the market’s gains and fear being left behind.
“People are looking to play catch-up at this point,” said Christian Bendixen, director of technical research at Bay Crest Partners LLC in New York.
Many analysts are encouraged by the market’s climb but say it can’t continue without a few drops arriving too.
