Asian and European markets ushered in a second consecutive day of gains on Thursday, laying the foundation for the U.S. markets to follow suit as the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 10,259.51, a gain of 285 points. The Nasdaq was up 81 points and the S&P up 35. This rise was in part thanks to Chinese officials debunking the recent rumors that China would be selling their Euro Zone debt, leaving the shaky European economy in an even more stressed position.
Good News from the Gulf
Oil drilling company Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP) was one of the day’s big winners with a gain of 7.92% likely caused by renewed investor confidence in the energy sector as BP’s (NYSE:BP) “top kill” effort to pump drilling fluid and, eventually, cement into the leaking well in an effort to curb the Gulf spill showed signs of success. In fact, even BP saw a 6.79% gain which may help them start to climb out of the (now) roughly 15% decline experienced since the April 20th oil leak began. News of Microsoft’s (NASDAQ:MSFT) reduced market capitalization also seemed to hit investors hard, but they hit back today as MSFT saw a 3.76% increase.
