The markets clung tightly to Italy’s political situation on Tuesday, and when Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi announced he would resign following the approval of a new budget law, stocks took off. The Dow Jones Industrial average jumped almost 150 points in the afternoon and finished the day up about 100. It brought a slew of financials skyward with it.
Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) jumped more than 4% to finish Tuesday at $26.53, with Deutsche Bank (NYSE:DB, $40.55), Citigroup (NYSE:C, $31.42) and Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS, $108.58) each climbing about 3%. The KBW Bank Index (BKX) of 24 major financial institutions finished the day about 2.5% higher. While Italy still faces massive budgetary problems, Berlusconi’s departure opens up the possibility of a new government that could make the large-scale changes necessary to further shore up the country’s fiscal mess.
Also headed upward were the two big U.S. automakers, with General Motors (NYSE:GM) gaining 4.3% to $25.04, and Ford (NYSE:F) jumping 3.48% to $11.61.
Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) had the bottom drop out for the second straight day, shedding more than 8% to end Tuesday at $30.45 — a day after it shed more than 9% on positive news from competing hepatitis C drugmakers. However, those rivals — Pharmasset (NASDAQ:VRUS) and Inhibitex (NASDAQ:INHX) — didn’t fare as well today, with VRUS shares sliding about 4% to $69.07, and INHX shares staying about flat at $9.65.
Three Up
- McCormick & Schmick (NASDAQ:MSSR): Up 27.47% ($1.86) to $8.63.
- Priceline (NASDAQ:PCLN): Up 8.61% ($43.85) to $552.85.
- Baker Hughes (NYSE:BHI): Up 4.54% ($2.58) to $59.38.
Three Down
- Weight Watchers (NYSE:WTW): Down 3.53% ($2.63) to $71.84.
- United Continental (NYSE:UAL): Down 2.88% (54 cents) to $18.20.
- Sony (NYSE:SNE): Down 2.83% (51 cents) to $17.48.
As of this writing, Kyle Woodley did not own a position in any of the aforementioned stocks. Check out recaps from previous trading days here.
