Richard Tafoya
Apr 30th, 2009, 10:04 PM
AP:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/04/30/stocks-big-april-could-be_n_194237.html
April was Wall Street's best month in nine years _ offering some of the most powerful evidence yet that maybe, just maybe, the economy is about to begin a turnaround.
The Standard & Poor's 500 index, considered the most reliable measure of the broader market, climbed 9.4 percent in April, its best performance since March 2000, the peak of the dot-com bubble. The Dow Jones industrial average shot up 7.4 percent in April, on top of a 7.7 percent gain in March.
That's more than a relief for investors _ it's a potential economic indicator, because the stock market tends to get back on its feet before the economy does. In downturns over the past 60 years, the S&P hit bottom an average of four months before a recession ended and about nine months before unemployment hit its peak.
"The market is saying that the economy would hit its trough this summer," said Al Goldman, chief market strategist at Wachovia Securities in St. Louis who has spent 50 years monitoring Wall Street.
Even with the gains in March and April, the Dow is still down 42 percent from its peak in October 2007, and the S&P 500 index is off 44 percent.
Nevertheless, the mood is clearly more upbeat.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/04/30/stocks-big-april-could-be_n_194237.html
April was Wall Street's best month in nine years _ offering some of the most powerful evidence yet that maybe, just maybe, the economy is about to begin a turnaround.
The Standard & Poor's 500 index, considered the most reliable measure of the broader market, climbed 9.4 percent in April, its best performance since March 2000, the peak of the dot-com bubble. The Dow Jones industrial average shot up 7.4 percent in April, on top of a 7.7 percent gain in March.
That's more than a relief for investors _ it's a potential economic indicator, because the stock market tends to get back on its feet before the economy does. In downturns over the past 60 years, the S&P hit bottom an average of four months before a recession ended and about nine months before unemployment hit its peak.
"The market is saying that the economy would hit its trough this summer," said Al Goldman, chief market strategist at Wachovia Securities in St. Louis who has spent 50 years monitoring Wall Street.
Even with the gains in March and April, the Dow is still down 42 percent from its peak in October 2007, and the S&P 500 index is off 44 percent.
Nevertheless, the mood is clearly more upbeat.