Stock Rise Across the Board

Early earnings reports from Bank of America and Citigroup set a poor picture for equities this morning but some positive economic news quickly turned that trend around.  Initial jobless claims dropped to a year low last week with only 335,000 jobs being lost.  At the same time, housing starts increased 12% on a year to year basis.  This early morning reported sent stock futures into the positive and the trend for the day was set.  For the first time in several sessions all three major exchanges closed in the positive.  The Dow closed up 84 points.