Equities Mid-Day Market Roundup: Stocks Waiver on Economic Data

U.S. stocks are rebounding in mid-day trading as investors shook off mixed economic data to push equities higher. The U.S. Department of Commerce said that U.S. GDP expanded only 1.8 percent in the first quarter of 2011, a huge drop from the 3.1 percent from the three months prior. In addition, the Labor Department also announced that the number of initial jobless claims rose 25,000 last week to 429,000. It’s the highest total since January. But many investors are coming back into U.S. equities due to the fact that the Federal Reserve has decided to end its bond buyback program once QE2 is completed. Investors that have been moving away from U.S. stocks and into commodities and international equities because of the weakening dollar, but experts believe that should reverse once the program ends.

Major U.S. Stock Indices

DJIA: 12,736.71 (+0.33 percent)
S&P 500: 1,357.47 (+0.13 percent)
Nasdaq: 2,865.14 (-0.17 percent)
Russell 2000: 859.42 (+0.13 percent)

In other news:

• What’s wrong with the U.S. economy? Where to begin… [Economist]
• NYSE Euronext (NYSE: NYX) still isn’t swayed by the Nasdaq OMX (NASDAQ: NDAQ) and InterContinentalExchange (NYSE: ICE) bid, but their investors may be warming to the idea. [WSJ]
• Is the Fed really ending quantitative easing? Apparently, some seem to think QE3 might just be right around the corner. [Minyanville]
• Energy stocks loved by Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) [The Street]
  • Occidental Petroleum Corporation (NYSE: OXY)
  • Exxon Mobil (NYSE: XOM)
  • Plains Exploration & Production Company (NYSE: PXP)
  • First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR)
  • Cenovus Energy Inc. (NYSE: CVE)
• Erin Burnett is leaving CNBC. Great, now the Street Sweetie nickname makes almost no sense. [Dealbreaker]

Check back for more news.