Market wrap - 4:14 pm

The market gapped up big this morning and rose right from the start. All indexes participated in the action. A weaker dollar helped oil and gold to rise, both saw the best gains in weeks. Morgan Stanley upgraded by two European banks, UBS and Credit Suisse with a price target of $37.00. The BKX, banking index rose .97 or 2.27%. What did not participate were the REIT's and Housing sector, as the IYR (Real Estate) ETF dropped .11 or .24% to $45.81. That is a bit strange. They usually trade along with the banks.

Both 3 and 6 month Bill auctions went well, and the Construction and ISM Manufacturing numbers came in a bit better than expected. Numbers overnight from China manufacturing numbers came in hot overnight which helped the market to it's higher open. You can read the MarketWatch report here, but stated;

A key measure of Chinese manufacturing reached a 20-month high in December, according to media reports Friday.

The purchasing managers' index (PMI) jumped to 56.6 in December from 55.2 in the previous month, Reuters reported, citing China's Federation of Logistics and Purchasing.

It was the 10th straight month that the index has stood above of 50, indicating an expansion of activity, according to the report, and represents the biggest month-on-month rise since March.

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As I find news of note, I will add it here.

From the Wall Street Journal this afternoon - Bankruptcy Filings Rise 32%, Top 1.4 Million

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1 Year Chart of the S&P 500(daily).