Up is down, down is upTuesday, April 15, 2008
Clearly, the stock market is in one of its moods. Johnson [amp]amp; Johnson, which reported strong first-quarter results on Tuesday morning and raised its forecast for the year – bucking an early trend toward disappointment at the start of the earnings season – fell in early trading. But investors can't seem to get enough financial stocks.
The Dow Jones industrial average, rose 66 points, or 0.5 per cent, to 12,368. Johnson [amp]amp; Johnson fell 0.5 per cent.[amp]nbsp; JPMorgan Chase [amp]amp; Co. rose 2.4 per cent, Citigroup Inc. rose 2.2 per cent and Bank of America rose 1.9 per cent.
And, just to make things even weirder, General Electric Co. – which put the fear of a disastrous earnings season into the minds of investors last Friday – rose 0.9 per cent.
In Canada, the focus was once again on commodity producers, with gold up strongly and crude oil hitting a new record high. Gold rose to $936.70 (U.S.) an ounce, up $8.20. Oil rose to $113.33 a barrel, up $1.57. The commodity-heavy S[amp]amp;P/TSX composite index rose 91 points, or 0.7 per cent, to 13,830.
EnCana Corp. rose 1.8 per cent, Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. rose 1.9 per cent and Barrick Gold Corp. rose 1.8 per cent. The commodity producer that everyone is watching these days – Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc. – rose 1.6 per cent, putting it well on its way to an 11th consecutive gain. Meanwhile, the Big Banks were mixed, a contrast to the United States, where financials were in high demand.