Most U.S. Stocks Advance; Fannie Mae, Morgan Stanley Gain
Add a Comment 
fannie mae, morgan stanley, Stocks March 19th, 2008March 19 (Bloomberg) — Most U.S. stocks rose as approval for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to buy more mortgages and better- than-forecast earnings at Morgan Stanley overshadowed a drop in energy shares.
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the largest sources of funding for U.S. mortgages, advanced as regulators approved $200 billion in additional purchasing power. Morgan Stanley, the second- biggest securities firm, rallied on record equity sales and trading revenue. Visa Inc. climbed after the largest card company raised $17.9 billion in the biggest-ever U.S. initial public offering. Exxon Mobil Corp. and Chevron Corp. fell, dragging the Dow Jones Industrial Average lower, as oil slid more than $4 a barrel.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index added 0.27 point to 1,331.01 at 12:18 p.m. in New York, extending its biggest gain in five years. The Dow lost 21.09, or 0.2 percent, to 12,371.57. The Nasdaq Composite Index decreased 5.26, or 0.2 percent, to 2,263. On the New York Stock Exchange, 971 stocks advanced and 893 retreated.
Tags: fannie mae, morgan stanley, Stocks
