Economic Data, Iraq Fuel Wall Street Rally

[The Finman]

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<h2><font color=#003399>Economic Data, Iraq Fuel Wall Street Rally</font></h2>
NEW YORK --- Wall Street rallied to close higher Friday after positive economic data revealing strength in the economy gave investors optimism on the tail end of a week heavy with corporate earnings reports.

Trading was active, with about 1.4 billion shares traded on the New York Stock Exchange and 1.6 billion shares traded on Nasdaq.

For the week, all three main gauges finished higher, with the Dow up 1.1 percent, the Nasdaq up 1.3 percent, and the S&P up 0.5 percent.

In a separate report, the department said sales of new, single-family homes rose at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.16 million units in June, a 4.7 percent increase over May's level.

Trading has been choppy in recent days as investors sift through the second-quarter earnings season.

The company's shares rebounded from an initial decline and rose 31 cents to $52.44.

Internet auctioneer eBay Inc. (EBAY), which fell $3.50 to $112.24, despite posting record profits after Thursday's close and announcing a two-for-one stock split.

The computer and electronics maker's quarterly report and projections, released after Thursday's close, both exceeded Wall Street projections.

Full Article <font color="red"><u>Here</u></font>