Bank of America (NYSE: BAC ) has to be loving 2012 so far. The much-maligned
financial stock of 2011 led big U.S. banking stocks to a strong showing Thursday
that saw BAC shares rise above the $6 mark for the first time since early
November. Bank analyst Nancy Bush told Reuters that upbeat job data and the
possible anticipation of positive mortgage-related news propped up the bank's
shares. BAC stock popped about 8.6%, putting the stock up more than 13% in the
new year. Its giant American rivals enjoyed modest gains too, with JPMorgan
Chase (NYSE: JPM , +2.1%), Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC , +1.6%) and Citigroup (NYSE:
C , +1.2%) all up on a flat day for the markets. A few automakers also pushed
forward Thursday as data continues to roll out from 2011 auto sales . The
Detroit "Big 3" were all profitable for the first time since 2004, with
Chrysler posting a 37% sales pop in December and Ford (NYSE: F ) and General
Motors (NYSE: GM ) posting more modest, but strong, gains. GM was up almost 5%,
and F shares gained about 2.6% Thursday. Volkswagen (PINK: VLKAY ) also got a
decent 1.5% boost, as it saw a monthly sales increase of 31%. Dendreon (NASDAQ:
DNDN ) made waves as one of the biggest market movers of the day, gaining almost
40% on better-than-expected sales of its cancer drug Provenge. The company
reported $82 million in fourth-quarter Provenge sales, and DNDN shares reached
their highest price in two months. Three Up Ancestry.com (NASDAQ: ACOM ): Up
20.1% ($4.60) to $27.47. ( ACOM and how to play the baby boom .) Sirius XM Radio
(NASDAQ: SIRI ): Up 11.5% (21 cents) to $2.04. Nokia (NYSE: NOK ): Up 6.5% (33
cents) to $5.41. Three Down Barnes & Noble (NYSE: BKS ): Down 17.1% ($2.31) to
$11.24. ( BKS consider selling off Nook business .) American Eagle (NYSE: AEO ):
Down 10.8% ($1.64) to $13.52. MetroPCS Communications (NYSE: PCS ): Down 8.9%
(78 cents) to $8.01. As of this writing, Kyle Woodley did not hold a position in
any of the aforementioned stocks. Check out our list of previous IP Market
Recaps .
No comments:
Post a Comment