This Week's Top Dow Stocks

It was a short week on Wall Street, but that doesn't mean it was absent of action. Worldwide, markets held their breath on Wednesday on fear that Portugal will pull back on austerity measures after losing two cabinet members, but that mini-panic didn't last long. Friday's jobs report showed 195,000 new jobs in Jun,e and stocks shot up to end the week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJINDICES: ^DJI  ) ended the week up 1.52% and the S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC  ) gained 1.59%.

United Technologies (NYSE: UTX  ) rose 3.9% to lead the Dow, mostly on positive economic news. A diversified company like United Technologies will benefit from stronger economic activity indicated by the jobs report. Subsidiary UTC Aerospace also announced a deal with ST Aerospace to provide maintenance, repair, and overhaul for Boeing 787 Dreamliner engines worldwide.  

Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ  ) was up 3.1% this week, although it wasn't the company itself that caused the move. Dell's buyout deal has now come into question after Michael Dell's partner Silver Lake Management refused to put more money into the offer, and it now appears that the $13.65 buyout offer will be voted on by shareholders. Whether the deal goes through or not, it has taken a lot of time and energy away from making Dell a strong PC company, which is a good thing for HP. I'm still leery of HP's falling revenue, but if the PC market turns around, there's a lot of upside for investors, especially if Dell's challenges continue.  

JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM  ) was the big bank winner, jumping 3% this week. Long-term interest rates are rising and that means higher spreads for banks, who borrow at short-term rates. Higher rates may seem bad for the economy, but the Federal Reserve will only allow them to rise if the economy is strong enough to stand on its own. Banks will be beneficiaries from higher interest rate spread and lower default rates, so it's no surprise that most banking stocks were up big this week.

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