Hewlett-Packard Company (HPQ), Bank of America Corp. (BAC): Dow: The Force Is Strong With This One

The Cypress situation has been a thorn in the Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEXDJX:.DJI)‘s side for much of the week. And though there is still a huge amount of uncertainty surrounding the country’s resolution to its economic problems, U.S. investors are feeling better as we head into the weekend. So far this morning the Dow is up by 77 points, recapturing a nice chunk of the 90 points it lost yesterday. Though there’s no help from economic news releases today, investors may have finally figured out that the impact of Cypress’ economic problems may not reach our shores, and are headed back to the markets.

The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) is up this 1.19% morning following the news that a Star Wars theme park is in the works — sending Ewoks and Wookiees worldwide into celebration mode. Since Disney acquired Lucasfilm last year and all the rights to the Star Wars franchise, it has given investors plenty of reasons to raise their light sabers in the air. A new film is slated to hit the theaters in 2015, various Disney parks around the world are being updated to include the franchise, and now the entertainment giant appears to be doing market research on the popularity of a Star Wars theme park near Disneyland in California. Disney may also be enjoying the change of season, since the first day of spring on Wednesday marks the start of vacation season, meaning more revenue coming in from its theme parks.

The tech sector was a big drag on the Dow yesterday, but Hewlett-Packard Company (NYSE:HPQ) seems to be rebounding as the biggest winner of the index’s 30 component stocks so far in trading. Up 1.52% this morning, HP has regained most of what it lost yesterday. News that the company’s board had been re-elected left a bad taste in many shareholders’ mouths yesterday. Since the company acquired and later wrote off the majority of the European-based Autonomy, many investors have been calling for a change in the boardroom. But the displeasure of yesterday’s news has been quickly reversed as investors try to regain shares in order to get the newly increased dividend from Hewlett-Packard Company (NYSE:HPQ). The board approved a 10% increase — a big incentive for investors to hold on to (or buy more) shares.