With China reporting economic growth at 9.5% for the second quarter of 2011, the Dow Jones Industrial Average surged from the opening bell, gaining more than 1.8% to more than 12,594. Of note, every stock on the Dow rose early in the morning session. The Dow Jones is up more than 8.8% for the year.
Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT) plowed ahead of the others, gaining more than $2.70 per share to take it over $109.70, up more than 2.6%. With a beta of over 2, Caterpillar has been up two days in the past trading week, and down three. It is up more than 17% for the year but down for the week.
Oil stocks were up strong, too, on expectations of increased demand from China, which is the world’s largest energy user. A recent article in Barron’s also projected the price of crude reaching $150 per barrel by the spring of 2012.
ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM) pumped out gains of more than $1.40 a share, more than 1.70% higher to around $83.30. ExxonMobil is up almost 14% for the year and almost 1.7% for the past week.
Chevron (NYSE: CVX) was up about $2, fueling a 2% gain, to take it over $106.50. Chevron is up almost 17% for the year and almost 1% for the last five days of trading.
Riding the good news from China, which will mean more demand for aluminum, was Alcoa (NYSE: AA), regaining lost ground with an almost 2% gain, about 30 cents, to sell for over $16. Despite reporting stronger earnings Monday, Alcoa fell both Monday and Tuesday because of global economic concerns. Alcoa is up more than 4% for the year, but bad news from around the world has it down more than 1.7% for the week.
General Electric (NYSE: GE) also was up about 2% to around $18.80, picking up more than 40 cents in the morning session. Up more than 2.7% for the year, GE is down more than 1.5% during the past week of trading.
Leading the financial sector back was JP Morgan (NYSE: JPM), higher by more than 2% to around $40.20, a gain of around 80 cents. JP Morgan reports its earnings tomorrow, and analyst sentiment is strong. JP Morgan is down more than 1.5% for the past week and over 5.2% for the year as financials are the worst-performing group of the Dow.
