Improved readings of gross domestic product and purchasing managers activity fueled a slight gain in stocks, capping the best month for the market since November. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 4.23 points to 10325.26. It finished up 2.6% for the month, its best performance since a 6.5% gain in November. The measure was led by a 3.3% gain in J.P. Morgan Chase after its executives said they didn't foresee a need to make strategic shifts despite changing regulations. Merck rose 1% as health-care stocks climbed after a Washington summit concluded Thursday without a deal on legislation. The month has turned out to be a good one for investors despite rising concerns about sovereign debt and the pace of the global economic recovery. Throughout the month, those fears often alternated with an increasing focus on the U.S. stock market as a safe haven, producing eight triple-digit daily point swings in the Dow. "It's often a case of taking a couple steps forward, a couple steps back right now," said portfolio manager Frank Ingarra, of Hennessy Funds.[Read more...]