The S&P 500 Smashes 1,700

The stock market is up again today. For the first time ever, the S&P 500 broke 1,700. Our Buy List is also doing well, except for DirecTV ($DTV), which is down about 3% after a disappointing earnings report.

The big jobs report is tomorrow, but today we learned that initial jobless claims dropped to a 67-month low. A total of 326,000 Americans filed for first time jobless claims last week.

Since it’s the first trading day of the month, the ISM report came out this morning and the number was an impressive 55.4. The Street had been expecting 52.0. Any reading above 50 indicates the factory sector of the economy is expanding. Below 50 is a contraction. July was the best month in more than two years.

Ford ($F) reported that sales rose 11% in July. It seems that a lot of contractors have been running out to replace their trucks they’ve had since before the recession. The AP reports, “F-Series truck sales rose 23 percent to 60,449, or one of every three vehicles Ford sold.” The stock is currently up to $17.10 per share.

Posted by Eddy Elfenbein on August 1st, 2013 at 10:13 am

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