Stocks Concluded the Month Strongly With Modest Gains
The S&P 500 finished Friday at about 2 points higher, concluding the month with a 2.7% gain. The consumer discretionary sector assisted in driving the index, up 5.2% in February.
Tech generally surmounted performance in February with the Nasdaq Composite Index closing its month with a 4-point gain Friday, ending the month 4% higher.
Intuit (NSDQ: INTU) and Autodesk (NSDQ: ADSK) were the best performers in Nasdaq for February, adding 9% and 17%, respectively.
In corporate news, insurance company, American International Group (NYSE: AIG) reported a Q4 loss that was bigger than expected. The $8.87 billion loss, however, was smaller than $61.7 billion lost in the prior year within the same period.
The insurer reported that a large part of the loss was from repaying the $6.2 billion from New York Federal Reserve. AIG has continued to repay the bailout money and is in the process of selling its American Life Insurance Company to produce additional cash.
Meanwhile, on the economic front, the Supply Management Institute said its Purchasing Managers Index rose to 62.6
in February, thus surprising economists as they forecasted a decline to 59.7.
The National Association of Realtors reported that existing homes sale swayed 7.2% in January to a yearly pace of 5.05 million homes. The outcome did not reach expectations as economists foresaw 5.15 million.
VIA AllHeadlineNews
Keyword: Stock Investing
The S&P 500 finished Friday at about 2 points higher, concluding the month with a 2.7% gain. The consumer discretionary sector assisted in driving the index, up 5.2% in February.
Tech generally surmounted performance in February with the Nasdaq Composite Index closing its month with a 4-point gain Friday, ending the month 4% higher.
Intuit (NSDQ: INTU) and Autodesk (NSDQ: ADSK) were the best performers in Nasdaq for February, adding 9% and 17%, respectively.
In corporate news, insurance company, American International Group (NYSE: AIG) reported a Q4 loss that was bigger than expected. The $8.87 billion loss, however, was smaller than $61.7 billion lost in the prior year within the same period.
The insurer reported that a large part of the loss was from repaying the $6.2 billion from New York Federal Reserve. AIG has continued to repay the bailout money and is in the process of selling its American Life Insurance Company to produce additional cash.
Meanwhile, on the economic front, the Supply Management Institute said its Purchasing Managers Index rose to 62.6
in February, thus surprising economists as they forecasted a decline to 59.7.
The National Association of Realtors reported that existing homes sale swayed 7.2% in January to a yearly pace of 5.05 million homes. The outcome did not reach expectations as economists foresaw 5.15 million.
VIA AllHeadlineNews
Keyword: Stock Investing
