Good morning,US Stocks rallied Thursday, with the Dow...

Good morning,

US Stocks rallied Thursday, with the Dow industrials topping 10,000, after the government reported a bigger-than-expected drop in jobless claims, and a number of retailers reported improved October sales.

The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) gained 205 points, or 2.1%, closing at 10,005.81. The Nasdaq composite (COMP) climbed nearly 50 points, or 2.4%.

Both the Dow and Nasdaq saw the biggest one-day percentage gains since July 23.

The S&P 500 (SPX) gained 20 points, or 1.9%.

Some analysts are saying "Today's big news was that we saw fewer claims for unemployment benefits. That suggests that the underlying economics are continuing to improve."

LONDON - European stock markets made modest gains on Thursday, powered by positive US employment data and upbeat comments from the European Central Bank on eurozone growth prospects.

In London, the FTSE 100 index rose 17.75 points, or 0.35 per cent, to close at 5,125.64.

FRANKFURT - In Germany, the DAX added 36.69 points, or 0.67 per cent, to 5,480.92.

PARIS - The CAC 40 added 38.4 points, or 1.05 per cent to end the session at 3708.73.

Oil prices slipped on Thursday as investors questioned whether the US would regain its appetite for petroleum.
Benchmark crude for December delivery gave up 78 US cents to settle at $US79.62 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The Australian market has received a strong lead from US securities trading on Wall Street and gold again was higher, although other metals and oil were lower.

At 0708 AEDT on the Sydney Futures Exchange, the December share price index contract was 63 points higher at 4,575.

In economic news on Friday, the Reserve Bank of Australia releases its quarterly statement on Monetary Policy.

Gold up $2 to US$1089.30 an ounce
Silver up half a US cent to US$17.41 an ounce
Copper down 3.6c at US$2.9570 a pound

http://www.marketwatch.com/
http://www.thebull.com.au/
http://www.news.com.au/business/

"Never risk more than 1% of your total equity in any one trade. By risking 1%, I am indifferent to any individual trade. Keeping your risk small and constant is absolutely critical." Larry Hite.