Although we don’t believe in timing the market or panicking over daily movements, we do like to keep an eye on market changes — just in case they’re material to our investing thesis.
The stock market closed the week on a positive note, as the Dow Jones Industrial Average 2 Minute (INDEXDJX:^DJI) finished Friday with a gain of 75 points, bringing its gains for the week to more than 450 points. After a horrible performance in August, stocks reacted well in anticipation of finally getting some answers to some key questions that have hung over the markets for months. Broader market measures weren’t able to match the Dow Jones Industrial Average 2 Minute (INDEXDJX:^DJI)’s 3% weekly rise, but the S&P 500, and the Nasdaq Composite, both climbed modestly today.
Making yet another appearance among big Dow Jones Industrial Average 2 Minute (INDEXDJX:^DJI) winners was The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS), rising 1.8%. The move could be follow-through buying in response to the company’s announcement yesterday that it would increase its stock buyback program to allow for purchases of about $6 billion to $8 billion in 2014. What’s unfortunate is that The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) largely missed out on its best opportunity to buy back its shares back in 2009, when it repurchased just $138 million in stock. To its credit, though, the company has had buybacks in the $2.5 billion to $5 billion range annually since then, taking some advantage of the lower prices prior to The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)’s recent run to all-time record highs.
Finally, The Boeing Company (NYSE:BA) climbed 1.4%. Not only could the next-generation 787-9 stretch Dreamliner get tested next week, but The Boeing Company (NYSE:BA) also earned a valuable split-decision from Lufthansa, as the airline chose to split an order of 50 aircraft between The Boeing Company (NYSE:BA) and rival Airbus. The best news from the deal is that it includes orders for The Boeing Company (NYSE:BA)’s upgraded 777X, making Lufthansa its first customer for the upgrade. Despite the Dreamliner’s challenges, The Boeing Company (NYSE:BA) has done a good job of boosting its presence within the industry, and giving aircraft-buyers the features they want to make their operations more efficient.
The article Thank These Stocks for Today’s Dow Gains originally appeared on Fool.com is written by Dan Caplinger.
Fool contributor Dan Caplinger has no position in any stocks mentioned. You can follow him on Twitter @DanCaplinger. The Motley Fool recommends Intel and Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS). The Motley Fool owns shares of Intel and Walt Disney.
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