US Stocks Ended the Week Up

The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index [[^gspc]] rose 3.2% to 1,329.51 this week, posting its first weekly gain in a month. Its loss so far this year stands at 9.5%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average [[^dji]] advanced 3.4% to 12,361.32. Bank stocks have had their biggest rally this week since September 2001, led by Goldman Sachs [[gs]], Morgan Stanley [[ms]] and Lehman Brothers [[leh]] - all of which reported better-than-forecast first-quarter earnings, easing the market’s concerns that revenue would be far worse. The Fed’s opening of a new lending facility for investment firms also faded worries over cash shortage at investment companies and banks. Goldman, the world’s biggest securities firm by market value, rose 15% to $179.63 after it reported that a drop in fixed-income revenue weren’t as bad as expected. Lehman gained 24% to $48.65, and Morgan Stanley rose 26% to $49.67 after it reported earnings that fell less than forecast as record equity sales and trading offset writedowns from the collapse of the subprime mortgage market.

While many investors have jumped back into stocks, others remain skeptical of the longevity of the relief rally. A few money managers have gone to the extent of proclaiming on TV that they believe the US financial crisis is over, and that people should snap up financial stocks again. Of course, they say that for their own vested interest especially when they are already long on these stocks.

One of the stocks to watch is Visa [[v]], the credit card network giant, which had its debut appearance on the stock market last week, and made headlines for having the biggest IPO in US history. It has the prestigious single-letter ticker symbol “V” which was given up by Vivendi two years ago.

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