Wall Street gets upbeat start to ’09

Stock markets advanced at least 6 percent this week.

NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street started the new year with a big rally Friday, as investors, brushing aside a disappointing report on manufacturing, sent the Dow Jones industrials up more than 250 points and to their first close above 9,000 in two months. All the major indexes shot up more than six percent for the week.

The Institute for Supply Management said its manufacturing activity index fell to the lowest level in 28 years in December. But the market held to its recent pattern of taking bad economic news in stride, a pattern that began to emerge after it touched multiyear lows on Nov. 20. Investors tend to look anywhere from three to nine months into the future when they make their moves.

“Over the last month, you’ve started to see a change in sentiment, and this certainly advances that,” said Carl Beck, partner at Harris Financial Group in Richmond, Va.

Economic data have been terrible for months and investors have shown little surprise even as some readings fell well short of economists’ already low expectations. During past recessions, the market has recovered ahead of the economy by growing numb to a stream of poor data and looking for signs that the downturn isn’t worsening.

The ISM, a trade group of purchasing executives, said Friday its manufacturing index fell to 32.4 in December from 36.2 in November. Economists polled by Thomson Reuters had expected a reading of 35.5; a figure below 50 indicates contraction.

Wall Street’s move higher comes amid light trading after the New Year’s holiday. Modest volume can lend buoyancy to the market as upbeat buyers have reason to come out and those with less conviction stay home.

The final session of the week follows a terrible year for investors. The Dow fell 33.8 percent in 2008, its worst performance since 1931.

Still, the market’s move higher was welcome.

“We like to see the markets shrug off the bad news. That typically is a sign that we’re forming a bottom,” said Eric Thorne, an investment adviser at Bryn Mawr Trust.

According to preliminary calculations, the Dow rose 258.30, or 2.94 percent, to 9,034.69, finishing the week up 6.1 percent. The blue chips last closed above 9,000 on Nov. 5, when they stood at 9,139.27.

Like the Dow, broader stock indicators also advanced for the third straight session. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 28.55 percent, or 3.16 percent, to 931.80, its highest close since Nov. 5. The Nasdaq composite index rose 55.18, or 3.50 percent, to 1,632.21.

For the week, the S&P 500 finished up 6.8 percent, while the Nasdaq rose 6.7 percent.

Thorne contends 2009 could be a strong year for Wall Street because most investors are so shaken from the sell-off in 2008, which erased six years of gains in stocks. Market bottoms often emerge because investors are so pessimistic or because stocks seem incapable of making any sustained recovery.

“A bottom isn’t formed in one day or even in one month but probably over several months,” he said. “Expectations are extremely low for the economy, for corporate earnings and for the stock market itself.”

From Nov. 20 to the end of 2008, the Dow advanced 16.2 percent, while the S&P 500 rose 20 percent.

“We’re very confident that the $9 trillion that is in cash right now will look to find a home in better-performing assets,” he said, referring to the amount of money invested in conservative but low-yielding areas like money market funds. Yields on safe investments like Treasurys have fallen to virtually nil as investors have clamored for safety and surrendered hopes of even earning a return on their money.