NEW YORK — A year after the stock market began its comeback from 12-year lows, investors are looking for the next big thing.
Stocks have lost some of the momentum that propelled the Dow Jones industrial average up 4,017 points, or 61.4 percent, from its close of 6,547 on March 9, 2009. That’s natural — bull markets tend to slow down as they head into their second year. But the lethargic pace of the economic recovery has also been a drag on stocks. And so investors are waiting for signs that the economy is ready to put up some solid, sustainable growth numbers.
The most likely trigger: job growth. Investors need to see a Labor Department report that says employers are creating more jobs than they’re cutting.
Until then, investors are going to stay cautious. Analysts say the market is likely to move sideways or drift higher, as it’s been doing over the past few weeks. Tuesday’s trading fit the pattern of modest moves. The Dow rose 11.86 points, or 0.1 percent, to 10,564.38. The index is up 1.3 percent this year. The Dow remains 25 percent below its peak of 14,164.53, reached in October 2007.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 1.95, or 0.2 percent, to 1,140.45. The index is up 68.6 percent in the past year. With dividends, it’s up about 72 percent. It is still down 27 percent from its high of 1,565.15, also reached in October 2007.
And the Nasdaq composite index rose 8.47, or 0.4 percent, to 2,340.68. The Nasdaq is at an 18-month high but still down by more than half from its peak reached 10 years ago today. On March 10, 2000, it rose to 5,048.62 at the height of the dot-com bubble.
“A lot of the gains we already enjoyed have been in anticipation of economic progress which has not yet occurred,” said Lawrence Creatura, portfolio manager at Federated Clover Investment Advisors.
