• E-mail this page
• |  Print this page
• | 
• | 
• | 

Reports Of Obama's Treasury Secretary Selection Send Stocks Surging

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose Friday to end the week lower than it opened Monday. However, a late afternoon rally Friday erased much of the damage from the previous session when the Dow took a 5.6%, or 445-point dive.

The volume of trading spiked in the last minutes before Friday's closing bell to hit the mark of 100 million shares. The Dow closed at 8,046.42, up 494.13, or a 6.54% rise, compared with Friday's opening.

The Nasdaq Composite gained 5.18%, or 68.23 to close at 1,384.35. The S&P 500 rose 6.32%, or 47.59, to close at 800.03. Both the Nasdaq and S&P mirrored the Dow for the week by closing lower than their Monday openings.

Friday afternoon, shares across the board rose quickly after NBC reported that President-elect Barack Obama had chosen New York Federal Reserve President Timothy Geithner to become the next U.S. Treasury secretary. If he is nominated and confirmed, he would replace current Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson.

All major tech stock sectors saw gains after the news, with software, Internet, and chips seeing the greatest benefits from the rally, with double-digit percentage increases. Among tech stocks, contract manufacturers saw the weakest gains, averaging just over 1%.

Obama's decision was not immediately confirmed and is subject to confirmation hearings, but the news seemed to send the Dow up more than 300 points. Geithner has advocated government intervention in financial markets in attempts to ward off, then minimize, broader economic fallout.

Geithner has worked with Paulson and U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernacke and has supported rate cuts, as well as government intervention in the financial markets. With Paulson at the helm, Geithner has not been blamed for the financial bailout's failure to stabilize the markets and cushion the blow to the economy.

NBC reported that Obama would announce his choices for economic leaders and advisers Monday to calm the markets.

Before NBC's report on the next likely appointment for Treasury secretary, nearly two of every five stocks of the 3,241 that traded on the New York Stock Exchange fell to new 52-week lows, according to Reuters. By the close of business, advancing shares outnumbered declining shares by two to one, Reuters reported.

« I'd Buy That Twitter For A Dollar | Main | IBM Demos Reuse Of Data Center Waste Heat »