Stocks Edge Higher, Traders Still Wary <\/p>\n
September 2, 2010 Housing sales were a bit higher than expected in July. Oil rose for a second straight day, making a 1.4% gain after an explosion on an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico, west of the BP rig that exploded and caused the worst oil spill in American history. <\/p>\n Yesterday, the manufacturing data from both the US and China was significantly up, giving credence to some economists\u2019 arguments that the weak economy is slowly recovering. The top-ranked technical analyst on Wall Street, Jeffery DeGraaf, said that even though yesterday\u2019s rally in the stock market was the largest in two months, it lacked the hallmark signs of a move that\u2019s likely to last. <\/p>\n The data expected to come out tomorrow, that of non-farm payrolls and how many jobs were lost and gained, is expected to make the market a little choppy. The unemployment rate is expected to have edged up to 9.6 % or possibly higher after tomorrow\u2019s data is released. <\/p>\n The stock market yesterday posted its biggest gains in two months, but most analysts are not convinced this is a sign of economic recovery.<\/p>\n Related posts:<\/p>\n
\nThe Dow Jones<\/a> Industrial Average was up more than 20 points after a 220 point gain yesterday, the S&P 500<\/a> was up more than 6 points, and the NASDAQ was up nearly 15 points.
\nData released today showed a drop of 6,000 new jobless claims from the previous report. The loss of temporary census workers, combined with the glut of jobs lost pushed the unemployment rate estimate up to 9.6%. 100,000 jobs were lost in August, and only 42,000 added. The unemployment rate is keeping consumer confidence low. <\/p>\n