According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the trade deficit dropped 13 percent–from $44.6 billion in September to $38.7 billion in October. The report (which you can view here) illustrates this increase in demand for U.S. goods, but also shows that the gap between imported goods and exported goods is still pretty wide.
Yesterday, we mentioned the additional $1 dividend issued by Freeport McMoRan Copper and Gold Inc (NYSE: FCX) which helped FCX rise 1.9 percent yesterday, according to money.cnn.com. Today, General Electric Co (NYSE: GE) announced that it was raising its quarterly dividend to $0.14 per share—an increase of 17 percent. As a result, nasdaq.com showed a 3.44 percent increase in GE’s stock price by market close.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average moved a little more decisively today, gaining 40.26 points to 11,410.32. The Nasdaq rose 20.87 points to 2,637.54 and the S&P 500 rose 7.4 points to 1,240.40.
European and Asian markets were mixed with China’s Shanghai Composite climbing 1.07 percent and coming close to erasing yesterday’s losses.
Stocks in the news: Community Health Systems Inc (NYSE: CYH), Tenet Healthcare Corp (NYSE: THC), Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc (NASDAQ: GMCR).
