(As of 7:15 am PST)
Stocks
continue to push higher Friday with the major US benchmarks on track to notch
their seventh weekly gain in eight weeks. Investors have been reacting
positively to the sentiment out of the Federal Reserve that the economy can
handle an interest rate hike next month. Dow component Nike Inc. is helping to
fuel today’s rise after the athletic apparel maker announced yesterday a two-for-one
stock split in addition to a 14% increase to its quarterly dividend and
approval of a $12 billion share repurchase program. The bullish trend is the
story globally today as well. European markets responded favorably to European
Central Bank President Draghi announcing that the ECB will do what it can do to
raise inflation while most Asian indexes ended overnight in the green. There
are no economic reports due out today leaving investors with only a speech from
St. Louis Fed President James Bullard and some positive earnings reports from
Foot Locker and Abercrombie & Fitch to digest. Oil continues its move
downward, nearing the $40 per barrel mark while gold has opened the day trading
up. Interest rates are down while the US dollar is higher.
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