Market Watch 10/05/2009

Today is Monday. The weather is sunny in here.

The first growth in the service industry in a year and upbeat comments about big banks pulled investors into the stock market after two losing weeks.

Financial and energy stocks led the gains after Golden Sachs raised its rating on large banks and the price of oil jumped.

Analysis said the improvement in the service index is encouraging because it could help boost confidence in the economy, a key element of a sustainable recovery.

The Dow rose 112.08, or 1.2 percent, to 9,599.75, its first gain in four days. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 15.25, or 1.5 percent, to 1,040.46, and the Nasdaq composite index rose 20.04, or 1 percent, to 2,068.15.

Crude oil rose 46 cents to settle at $70.41 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange as the dollar weakened.

Bond prices mostly fell, pushing up yields. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note rose to 3.23 percent from 3.22 percent late Friday.

The dollar fell against most other currencies, while gold prices rose.

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George Soros Quote:

The financial markets generally are unpredictable. So that one has to have different scenarios... The idea that you can actually predict what's going to happen contradicts my way of looking at the market.

Markets are designed to allow individuals to look after their private needs and to pursue profit. It's really a great invention and I wouldn't under-estimate the value of that, but they're not designed to take care of social needs.