The major stock index composites were trending in positive territory this
morning prior to opening bell. This was a good sign after seeing the indices go
mixed on the last day of March. The Dow Jones and the S&P 500 fell into the red
yesterday to close. The last day of March represented the end of the first
quarter of 2011 and overall, stocks notched higher for the quarter. Even though
stock trends were not significantly higher for the quarter, the gain was still
noteworthy due to the context. Investors have had to process and deal with the
crisis in Japan, the violence in Libya and the Middle East, rising oil,
inflation potentials, budget deficits and more. The gains made in the first
quarter are signs of stability for our nations economy and verification of
improved economic health and growth. Stocks were holding firm this morning and
looked to be in good position for gains today, the first day of open trading for
April. The market was given a positive push forward with the governments
stronger than anticipated jobs report. The closely monitored report showed an
increase of 216,000 jobs in the month of March with the unemployment rate
slipping to 8.8%. Other releases due out on the economic calendar for Friday
include The Institute for Supply Managements manufacturing index and the
Commerce Departments report on construction spending. At mid day the major
market indexes are all trending in the green. The Dow gained 95.70 points or
0.78% to 12415.43. The Nasdaq increased 19.20 points or 0.69% to 2800.25. The
S&P 500 rose 11.00 points or 0.83% to 1336.79. The Treasuries 10 year yield
gained 0.01 to 3.47%. Oil rose 0.99 to $107.69 a barrel. The U.S. dollar lost
0.0007 to the Euro at $1.42. Author: Pamela Frost
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