3 Stocks Helping the Dow Rise Today
It's always nice when central banks turn on the spigots and give the economy a jolt in the arm. But in the end, if those efforts don't actually result in gains, they're meaningless. That's why today's promising data showing that existing-home sales rose a much greater than expected 7.8% in August was particularly useful, as it takes QE3 and its previous incarnations out of the realm of theory and shows actual hard results. Largely on optimism from that report, the Dow Jones Industrials (INDEX: ^DJI) gained about 13 points today.
Among top Dow stocks, Disney (NYS: DIS) was a big winner, rising more than 1.5%. New technology has increased the value of original content, and Disney generates some of the most valuable content out there, from its nearly century-old library of movies to its network entertainment. As Fool contributor Tim Beyers pointed out today, Disney has made the most of acquisitions such as Pixar and Marvel, and it has the ability to keep on scoring big wins well into the future.
Home Depot (NYS: HD) gained about 1% in a fairly predictable response to the good news in housing. Surprisingly, Home Depot has managed to post strong financials and nice stock performance despite a slow housing market. If a true recovery starts taking hold, though, then it might bring a new wave of good news for Home Depot.
Finally, Kraft (NAS: KFT) also enjoyed a 1% gain, probably in sympathy with General Mills (NYS: GIS) , which picked up almost 2% after a positive earnings report. Unlike General Mills, which bought Yoplait and has made a big push into the yogurt market, Kraft gave up on its Athenos Greek yogurt brand earlier this year. Given the dominance of Chobani over the Greek yogurt market, though, it's hard to fault Kraft's decision to give up its fight and focus on other areas.
Hit me baby, one more time
Daily gains are valuable, but only when they add up into much larger long-term gains. Find the best prospects to earn you big profits from The Motley Fool's special report on the Dow, where you'll discover three promising Dow stocks with great prospects for the future. The report is absolutely free, so get your copy today.
The article 3 Stocks Helping the Dow Rise Today originally appeared on Fool.com.
Fool contributorDan Caplingerdoesn't own shares of the companies mentioned in this article. You can follow him on Twitter,@DanCaplinger. The Motley Fool owns shares of Disney.Motley Fool newsletter serviceshave recommended buying shares of Home Depot and Disney. Try any of our Foolish newsletter servicesfree for 30 days. We Fools don't all hold the same opinions, but we all believe thatconsidering a diverse range of insightsmakes us better investors. The Fool has adisclosure policy.
Copyright © 1995 - 2012 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
