Stocks Surge on Economic Data

Markets and economic reports are hitting levels we haven't seen in five years today. Housing starts hit a seasonally adjusted level of 954,000, the best since 2008; new jobless claims fell 37,000 to 335,000, the lowest since January 2008; and the S&P 500 has increased 0.7% to hit a level we haven't seen since late 2007. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 0.77% today, and there are some big movers on the index.

Disney is up 1.95% after Deutsche Bank reiterated a buy rating and increased its price target. The House of Mouse has leveraged its content machine through both traditional end emerging distribution channels, and it looks to be one of the surefire winners in the media space.

Chevron and ExxonMobil are both up more than 1% after oil jumped past $96 per on news of the takeover of a natural-gas plant by Algerian militants. The Algerian military has reportedly attacked the compound, and some hostages have reportedly been killed. This is a terrible situation, and it's this sort of turmoil that can send the price of oil -- and, by extension, oil producers -- higher on a day like this.

Intel is the other big mover on the Dow, climbing 1.9% ahead of an important earnings report after the close. The company is dealing with the slow decline of the PC market, and investors will be interested to hear how progress in everything from mobile to servers is going. There's a lot of pressure on Intel, and investors have failed to see value in the company's 9.8 P/E ratio or a 4.1% dividend, because they're afraid earnings can only go lower. It's a big day for Intel.

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The article Stocks Surge on Economic Data originally appeared on Fool.com.

Fool contributor Travis Hoium manages an account that owns shares of Intel. You can follow Travis on Twitter at @FlushDrawFool, check out his personal stock holdings or follow his CAPS picks at TMFFlushDraw. The Motley Fool recommends Chevron, Intel, and Walt Disney. The Motley Fool owns shares of ExxonMobil, Intel, and Walt Disney. 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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