Good News, Stocks Up | featured news

Stocks ticked up after Monday's global selloff, as a measure of home prices fell less than expected. The S&P 500 rose five points, or 0.4%, to 1319 in mid-afternoon trade. The index's consumer discretionary sector advanced 1.3%, on track for its steepest daily climb since June 14.

Stocks advanced on Tuesday, putting the S&P 500 on track for its fourth straight gain on increased hopes for central bank stimulus measures ahead of the Federal Reserve's policy meeting.

Stocks closed out its best week of the year Friday, as investors played things close to the vest before the weekend when Spain is expected to request aid for its troubled banks.

Stocks soared Tuesday, as investors welcomed a slew of solid earnings and after a German investor confidence survey surprised on the upside and Spanish benchmark yields eased.

U.S. stocks rose on Wednesday after an encouraging start to earnings season helped equities rebound from five days of losses that pushed the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq below key technical levels.

Wall Street closed out its strongest quarter in nearly three years Friday, leaving investors wondering if the market can continue to deliver strong gains in the weeks and months ahead.

Stocks climbed to new heights in part on rosy retail sales data, pushing the broad market to levels last seen in June 2008 and the Nasdaq composite index past the 3,000 milestone for the first time since 2000.

Wall Street's bulls have reason to celebrate: The Dow Jones industrial average closed above the psychologically important 13,000 mark for the first time since the financial crisis began in 2008.

U.S. stocks moved higher in a choppy session Tuesday, with the Dow Jones industrial average moving above 13,000 for the first time since May 2008. The 13,000 level doesn’t hold a great deal of significance to market analysts, but “it’s nice to see a symbolic number,” Art Cashin, UBS director of floor operations, told CNBC. The Dow last moved above 13,000 on an intra-day basis on May 20, 2008. It last closed above that level on May 19, 2008.

It was just last summer that the Dow Jones industrial average shed 2,000 points in three terrifying weeks. Investors had a host of things to worry about, including the possibility of another recession. Now the Dow is within reach of the rarefied 13,000 mark — a level it hasn't seen since May 2008, four months before the financial system almost came apart.