The Dow Beats Back Weekly Losses

After two days of pretty bad losses, the Dow Jones Industrial Average is back on track today. As of 2:15 p.m. EST, the index has risen 60 points, or 0.5%. Most stocks are solidly in the green today, with just a few laggards keeping the index down from bigger gains. One notable bank and recent top Dow performer, however, is wrecking its investors' day.

Down goes B of A
Don't look now, Bank of America shareholders, but this stock has slid more than 4% on the day. Credit Suisse Group AG cut the bank's rating earlier, and the bank also went on to sell $6 billion worth of debt Tuesday. Even with the losses, however, shares of B of A are still up more than 91% over the past 52 weeks. The bank was one of the best-performing stocks in the Dow last year.

On the other side of the index, Boeing is leading all Dow members higher following two consecutive days of losses sparked by problems with its 787 aircraft. An Oppenheimer analyst came out and dismissed fears about the aircraft today, saying he considered them part of the process of rolling out new aircraft that have been attracting media attention. Japan Airlines, one of the carriers affected by the problems of the past two days, has said that it has no plans to alter orders of the 787 for now -- perhaps proving the optimists right.

So far, Boeing's stock has picked up 3%.

Hewlett-Packard continues its recent rise today. Shares of the tech giant have gained 2.1% to bring gains in the past month to nearly 9%. With the stock losing so much value, bargain-hunting investors are looking for a cheap, well-known company in hopes of a turnaround. However, as HP continues to deal with the fallout of its massive Autonomy writedown while navigating the stormy waters of the declining PC market, there's little value to be had here. Over the past 52 weeks, the stock has lost more than 41%.

Finally, Alcoa has done little today despite a better-than-expected earnings report yesterday. The aluminum manufacturer beat revenue projections by nearly $300 million and posted a quarterly profit -- better than the loss posted a year ago. The shares sit at breakeven for the day.

Alcoa posted good numbers yesterday, but what's in store for the future? Representing 14.7% of 2011 global production in this highly consolidated industry, Alcoa is in prime position to take advantage of growth that some expect will lead to total industry revenue approaching $160 billion by 2017. Based on this prospective and several other company-specific factors, Alcoa is certainly worth a closer look. For a Foolish investment perspective on this global giant, simply click here to get started.

The article The Dow Beats Back Weekly Losses originally appeared on Fool.com.

Dan Carroll has no position in any stocks mentioned. 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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