DJIA Surges As Bellwethers Report Solidly

DJIA Surges As Bellwethers Report Solidly
Mood Swings to Cheery After Google, Caterpillar Help Ease Profit Jitters

By SCOTT PATTERSON
April 19, 2008; Page B1

If stocks keep acting like this, investors may start asking: What recession?
After stumbling into first-quarter earnings season amid worries about the effects of an economic slowdown on profits, stocks took off with a vengeance Friday after several bellwether companies, including Google and Caterpillar, posted solid results.
Even beleaguered financial stocks advanced after Citigroup announced plans to cull its work force by 9,000 employees. Its stock gained 4.5%.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average, which includes Caterpillar and Citigroup, jumped 228.87 points, or 1.8%, to 12849.36. The gain was its fourth straight advance, leaving it up 4.3% for the week, although the blue-chip average remains 3.1% in the red year to date.
Oil prices continued to reach new records. Crude futures rose $1.83 to $116.69 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange amid concerns about supplies in Nigeria. Crude gained 6% during the week and is up 22% for the year.
The mood was a big change from a week ago, when investors bit their nails over a surprisingly weak earnings report from General Electric that raised worries about a broad economic slowdown and sent stocks tumbling.
"It's about time," Todd Clark, director of trading at Nollenberger Capital Partners, said Friday.
Google led the charge, rising 20% after reporting a 30% gain in first-quarter earnings late Thursday. Its results sparked a broad rally in tech stocks. The Nasdaq Composite Index gained 61.14 points, or 2.6%, to 2402.97, leaving it up 4.9% for the week. The weekly point gain was biggest in nearly six years, and the weekly percentage gain was the biggest since August 2006. Still, the Nasdaq is down 9.4% this year.
The Standard & Poor's 500-stock index rose 24.77 points, or 1.8%, to 1390.33, its highest close since Feb. 1. The S&P was up 4.3% for the week and down 5.3% year to date.
There were 4.2 billion New York Stock Exchange-listed shares traded, the third highest level this month.