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Monday, March 26, 2012

STOCKS SURGE TO NEW HIGHS: Here's What You Need To Know, March 26, 2012

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Monday, March 26, 2012

Bad news is good news.

First the scoreboard:

Dow: 13,241.6, +160.9, +1.2%
S&P 500: 1,416.5, +19.4, +1.3%
NASDAQ: 3,122.5, +54.6, +1.7%

And now the top stories:

On an otherwise quiet day, markets exploded higher after the Fed said more accommodative monetary policy may be needed to bolster the jobs market. In a presentation about the dismal state of the labor market, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke acknowledged that the economy has been improving. However, he also warned that the labor market was still pretty weak, and he signaled that tightening was unlikely any time soon. Here's Ben Bernanke's Big Slideshow On The Dismal State Of The Labor Market >
Gold jumped nearly 2 percent today. A slew of analysts had nothing but bullish things to say about the yellow metal today. Macquarie thinks the recent dip in gold prices have presented a great buying opportunity. They think prices are headed to $2,250/oz. Some gold skeptics have pointed to India's new taxes on gold as a reason to be worried. However, SocGen's Michael Haigh think fears are overblown as the impact of the new taxes are likely to be minimal. Lance Roberts Answers: Is This The Death Of The Gold Bull Market?
Raymond James' Jeff Saut, one of the more bullish strategists out there, has been getting a bit more nervous about stocks lately. He recommends holding some cash for when opportunities should present themselves. One such opportunity of late is the Market Vector Gold Miners' ETF argues Saut. Make No Mistake, Institutional Investors Are All In >
More bad news out of the housing market. February pending home sales unexpectedly fell 0.5 percent. Economists were looking for the reading to increase by 1.0 percent. This further extends the long losing streak of disappointing housing data.
The Dallas Fed's manufacturing index plunged to 10.8. Economists were looking for a reading of 17.0. Nevertheless, the reading reflects the third consecutive time the metric has come above 0, which is a positive.
Don't Miss: These Are The Companies That Will Make A Killing Off Of The Coming 'Industrial Revolution' In America >