Stocks rose today on the heels of the Fed's quarter-point cut of a key interest rate and good news about the GDP. "The Fed may be done here," a Boston strategist told Bloomberg. "We don't need them anymore, and the market is taking consolation in that." The Dow was up 137.54 to 13,930.01, the Nasdaq 42.41 to 2,859.12, and the S&P 18.36 to 1,549.38.
This makes October the third straight month of market gains, notes Bloomberg. Energy shares were up after crude oil hit $94.50 a barrel following a report that showed low US inventories. Exxon and Microsoft made big gains on hopes of continued consumer spending, and Kraft shares rose on a strong third-quarter profit report. (More stock market stories.)