Saturday, July 28, 2012

Stocks Jump on Hopes for Euro-Cooperation

Stocks jumped on Friday on reports that European leaders are getting more aggressive in their efforts to stem the bleeding in countries like Spain. ECB President Mario Draghi will meet shortly with the head of Germany’s Bundesbank, ostensibly to convince the Germans to back bond purchases and other actions. German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande also said they would work to keep the euro zone from breaking apart.

The vague statements of cooperation encouraged investors to buy riskier assets. The Dow jumped 187.7 points to close at 13,075.7, its highest level since May 3. The S&P 500 rose 25.9 points, ending up at 1,386. Both indexes rose nearly 2% on the week, their third consecutive week in the black.

Nymex crude rose to $90.13.

Every Dow stock rose. Merck (MRK) rose the most in the index, closing 4.1% higher after posting better than expected earnings.

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