Thursday

A strong reading of home sales and a sigh of relief from traders following the president's speech on financial reform led to a comeback in the stock market today. Major indexes traded sharply lower in the morning, hurt by Moody's credit downgrade of heavily indebted Greece. But that gave way to a rally beginning around midday as traders turned their attention elsewhere. Also, Apple edged out Microsoft today for the #2 spot in the S&P 500. In other markets, the euro dropped to its weakest point since May 2009 due to its credit rating downgrade. DJIA +9.37 Nasdaq +14.46 S&P 500 +2.73.