Assessing Stock Market Movements

After reviewing the "Abreast of the Market" article from the February 1, 2005, edition of the Wall Street Journal, a clearer picture of the previous day's market activities is apparent. To recap, the DJIA gained 62.74 points (0.6%) to close at 10489.94; the Nasdaq Composite Index increased 26.58 (1.31%) to close at 2062.41; and the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index rose 9.91 (0.85%) to finish at 1181.27.

Overall, the market prices increased on January 31, 2005, due to a number of acquisitions taking place; analysts and brokers consider the current mergers and acquisitions a positive indication that the U.S. economy is rallying thus causing prices to rise. Another sign of the economy improving is the 4th Quarter earnings posting of the exchanges' listed companies; many of the businesses have shown fair earnings reports for the final quarter of 2004 therefore giving market analysts additional signs of a steady growth.

English: Apple's headquarters at Infinite Loop in ...

Mergers and Acquisitions (The Sopranos)

English: Notice at gate, Ringslade clay quarry Thr...

Of the mergers and acquisitions taking place, two major players in the markets are fueling the positive gains of yesterday: SBC announced its proposal to buy AT&T in a deal for more than $16 billion and MetLife announced its plans to purchase the Travelers Life and Annuity business from Citigroup for $11.5 Billion.

"ASSESSING STOCK MARKET MOVEMENTS" 2

After analyzing the "Price Percentage Gainers and Losers" from the February 1, 2005 edition of the Wall Street Journal the list includes 100 Gainers and Losers from the NYSE, Nasdaq and AMEX. The Price Percentage Gainers were as follows:

NYSE - Aviall (AVL): Price $28.81, Change 5.11, %Chg 21.6; Aviall's meteoric rise is due to their just announced a $5 Billion Lifetime Pact to Distribute GE aviation parts worldwide.

Nasdaq - StarScnfc (STSI): Price $4.90, Change 0.81, %Chg 19.8; Star Scientific is a biotechnology company developing a tobacco curing process that will...