Why the Dow Is Rallying Today

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEX: ^DJI) was up as manufacturing data from around the world showed growth and the ADP released data showing private-sector jobs grew by 170,000 in January. At 1:45 p.m. EST, the Dow was up 131 points to 12,764.

Leading the Dow on a day when 28 of the 30 Dow components are up is Bank of America (NYS: BAC) . The stock is up 3.84% to $7.40. Two weeks ago, Bank of America reported better-than-expected earnings for the fourth quarter, ending the year with positive earnings. While the stock has been moving up and down with the status of the Greek debt talks, investors should be most interested in the $25 billion settlement that Bank of America and other lenders are trying to enter into with states over their mortgage servicing practices.

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At the time thisarticle was published Fool contributor Dan Dzombak owns shares of Bank of America, but he holds no other position in any company mentioned. Click here to see his holdings and a short bio. The Motley Fool owns shares of Bank of America. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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