The Closing Bell, 11/23: Happy Holidays come early

A holiday-week Monday and strong housing market report helped lift local stocks along with the broad market.

Big winners included Cerner Corp., whose $1.83 jump to $77.67 measured 2.85 percent, and Garmin Ltd, whose 88-cent rise to $31.74 measured 2.41%.

Sprint Nextel Corp. shares advanced 3.72%, or 14 cents to $3.90.

The broad market gains halted a three-day losing streak. Index gains of more than 1 percent pushed the Dow Jones industrial average to a 13-month high.

According to preliminary calculations, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 132.79 points, or 1.29 percent, and closed at 10,450.95.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 index climbed 14.86 points, or 1.36 percent, and closed at 1,106.24.

The Nasdaq composite index advanced 29.97 points, or 1.40 percent, and closed at 2,176.01.

An early reading of the KansasCity.com index of 145 regional companies showed a gain of 8.44 points, or 1.36 percent, at 630.25.

Among Kansas City area companies of interest:
I Cerner Corp. closed at $77.67, up $1.83.
I Capitol Federal Financial closed at $29.76, up 19 cents.
I Commerce Bancshares Inc. closed at $41.52, up 84 cents.
I DST Systems Inc. closed at $42.35, up 38 cents.
I Garmin Ltd. closed at $31.74, up 88 cents.
I Great Plains Energy closed at $18.06, up 28 cents.
I H&R Block Inc. closed at $20.65, up 27 cents.
I Kansas City Southern closed at $28.59, up 22 cents.
I Sprint Nextel Corp. closed at $3.90, up 14 cents.
I UMB Financial Corp. closed at $40.12, up 64 cents.
I Waddell & Reed Financial Corp. closed at $29.47, up 21 cents.
I YRC Worldwide Inc. closed at $1.21, down 4 cents.
The Closing Bell is compiled from staff and wire reports by Steve Rosen. Call him at 816-234-4879 or send e-mail to srosen@kcstar.com. A recap of the day’s markets activity is available in the Business section of The Kansas City Star.