These 3 Dow Stocks Surged Today
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEX: ^DJI) finished the day up as general sentiment that the global economy is improving rose; however, some stocks did much better than the Dow as a whole.
Source: Google Finance.
Today's Top 3
Today's Dow leader was Hewlett-Packard (NYS: HPQ) up 2.61% to $23.63. Tuesday night, the company announced a merger of its flailing PC and printer divisions to cut costs, and the market responded by sending Hewlett-Packard down 4% the next two days. Fool analyst Rich Smith is less than impressed and believes this is little more than trying to make the PC division look better than it really is. The printing division is Hewlett-Packard's strongest business, with a 42% market share. Bargain-hunting investors were probably picking up shares after two straight down days.
Bank of America (NYS: BAC) was second behind Hewlett-Packard today, finishing up 2.6% [$0.25] to end the day at $9.85. Since passing the Federal Reserve's stress test last Tuesday, Bank of America's stock has been on fire, rising 23% since then. For further explanation, see Fool analyst Anand Chokkavelu explain why Bank of America shares are soaring. And you haven't missed the boat on this stock, despite the surge: Fool analyst John Maxfield believes now is the time to buy Bank of America.
Caterpillar (NYS: CAT) took third for the day, up 1.32% [$1.40] to end at $107.83. The stock has been falling all week over concerns of slowing global growth. Separate purchasing managers' surveys of Europe and China have both pointed to slowing activity in March. The reversal in sentiment today pushed Caterpillar as well as fellow cyclicals Alcoa, Chevron, and DuPont, up for the day.
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At the time thisarticle was published Dan Dzombakholds no position in any company mentioned.Like his Facebook pageto follow his investing articles.Motley Fool newsletter services have recommended buying shares of Chevron. We Fools don't all hold the same opinions, but we all believe thatconsidering a diverse range of insightsmakes us better investors. Try any of our Foolish newsletter servicesfree for 30 days. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy.
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