he jump gives money managers like Cobb hope that ordinary folks burned by two deep bear markets in a decade will start buying again, propelling the indexes even higher. In a remarkable act of self-restraint or foolishness, depending on your view they have mostly stayed out of the market. One reason they may jump in now is that fear of looming disasters, like a full-blown debt crisis in Europe or a second recession in the United States, has faded. Bulls say investors will turn their attention to the only thing that really matters for stock prices in the long run corporate profits. Another hopeful sign for gains is that those who have been buying stocks appear to be taking bigger risks than before, suggesting growing confidence. Last year, investors put much of their money into so-called defensive stocks, such as utilities and health care companies, which make money in bad times as well as good. This year,toms shoes discount, it's the risky fare that's being scooped up. Financial stocks are up 22 percent, the best among the 10 industry groups within the S P. Technology companies are up 21 percent. Consumer discretionary stocks, like hotels and cable companies, are up 16 percent. Utilities are down 3 percent for the quarter, the only group in the red. Standard Poor's Capital IQ, a research firm, predicted at the beginning of the year that the S P would hit 1,400 by the end of the year. By March 15, it had hit 1,403, and on Friday it was at 1,408. "We were originally accused of being too optimistic," says Sam Stovall, chief equity strategist at S P Capital IQ. "It doesn't mean we can't have a 10 percent correction, but it's unlikely we will." The Dow is less than 1,000 points away blow its all-time high of 14,164.53, set Oct. 9, 2007. The S P is about 150 points from its record close of 1,565.15, set the same day. The first day of the year set the tone. On Jan. 3, the Dow rose 180 points. Later that month, the Federal Reserve said it would probably keep benchmark interest rates near zero for almost three more years. That sent stocks to their highest levels since May 2011. It was the best January for stocks since 1997. Skeptics pointed out that profits at U.S,toms outlet. companies, after jumping by double-digit percentages for eight quarters in a row, seemed to be growing much more slowly. They also worried that the number of shares of stock traded each day was low, which suggested a lack of conviction by buyers. Stocks kept climbing anyway, passing two milestones in quick succession. On Feb. 28, the Dow rose above 13,000 for the first time since May 2008, four months before the financial crisis hit that September. Two weeks later, it was the Nasdaq's turn. It crossed 3,000 for the first time since the dot-com frenzy a dozen years earlier,cheap toms. Even a few duds got caught in the upswing. The stocks of Microsoft and Cisco have barely budged this century. This year, they have have risen 24 percent and 17 percent, respectively. Dell, which has languished for years, is up 13 percent. Your comment will be posted immediately, unless it is spam or contains profanit Related articles:

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