Market Wrap: Stocks Rally, Investors Rejoice; Fed Sets Up for Basel III; Oracle Q2 Flummoxes

Market wrap-up for December 20th

End of the Day: Dow Jones up 337.3 tp 12,103.58; Nasdaq up 80.6 to 2,603.73; S&P 500 up 36.0 to 1,241.30

The following is a brief summary of events moving markets today:

• Woo! Stocks!: Stocks moved more to the upside than expected today, causing even the Grinch's heart to increase threefold. Main catalysts behind the run were an improvement in German business confidence, a pop in U.S. housing starts, and a relatively successful Spanish bond auction.
  
  Click here for more color.
  
  
• New Fed TV show: "Back to the States": The Federal Reserve Board on Tuesday proposed steps to strengthen regulation and supervision of large bank holding companies and systemically important nonbank financial firms. The key points include:
  • Risk-based capital and leverage requirements.
    
    
  • Liquidity requirements.
    
    
  • Stress tests.
    
    
  • Single-counterparty credit limits.
    
    
  • Early remediation requirements.
  Click here for more more color on the key elements.
  
  
• Spectrum acquisitions raise questions: Verizon Wireless, of Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ), was said to be subject of a U.S. Department of Justice probe over recent spectrum acquisitions. The DoJ is looking into whether the acquisitions will hurt competition in the wireless realm.
  
  Verizon ended 1.5 percent better on the session Tuesday, though it did see a little dip when headlines hit.
  
  
• Not looking so wise today: Oracle (Nasdaq: ORCL) reported Q2 EPS of $0.54, 3 cents worse than the analyst estimate of $0.57. Revenue for the quarter came in at $8.8 billion versus the consensus estimate of $9.23 billion. Shares slumped in the after-hours trading session following the numbers.
  
  Click here for more color on the numbers.
  
  
• Bill Gross sets new record! Wait, what?: Reports suggest PIMCO saw about $2.3 billion of outflow from its Total Return Fund, the first time since its inception in 1987 the fund would report a net outflow in a calendar year.
  
  One analyst sees an additional net outflow of $200 million in December, bringing the total to about $2.5 billion. PIMCOs TRF saw net inflows of $51.4 billion in 2009, and $25.7 billion in 2010.
  
  
• Legislation hits roadblock...again: The House failed to pass an extension on the two-month payroll tax break recently passed in the Senate. With a vote of 229-193, Speaker Boehner, et al, proposed a year-long extension to the tax cut.
  
  Bloomberg does a nice job of summarizing the deal: "Most lawmakers agree that the tax cut should be extended through 2012. They differ on how to cover the cost to the Treasury and on what other policy changes should accompany the extensions. Senate Democrats want to pay part of its cost with a surtax on income exceeding $1 million, which Republicans oppose, and House Republicans have voted to pay for the bill through such measures as freezing federal civilian pay." Boom.

Click here to go to Streetinsider's Full News Feed and never miss a beat!

---

Serious News for Serious Traders! Try StreetInsider.com Premium Free!

---

You May Also Be Interested In

• Iridium Communications (IRDM) Reports In-Line Q1 EPS; offers outlook
• Microsoft earnings preview: Another strong report from the AI winner?
• Elevance Health (ELV) hikes 2024 earnings outlook, shares climb