Signs of Recovery Boost Stocks
|
TOOLBOX
   Resize
COMMENT
 Discussion Policy
 CLOSE
Comments that include profanity or personal attacks or other inappropriate comments or material will be removed from the site. Additionally, entries that are unsigned or contain "signatures" by someone other than the actual author will be removed. Finally, we will take steps to block users who violate any of our posting standards, terms of use or privacy policies or any other policies governing this site. Please review the full rules governing commentaries and discussions. You are fully responsible for the content that you post.
Who's Blogging  |
U.S. stocks rose for the fifth time in six weeks, pushing the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index to its highest level since October, as rising commodity prices and a surge in home sales signaled an economic recovery.
Exxon Mobil gained as oil climbed to a 10-month high of $73.89 a barrel. J.P. Morgan Chase rallied for the seventh consecutive week as data showed that sales of previously owned homes in the United States jumped 7.2 percent. Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson rose in a week of opposition to President Obama's health-care reform proposal. American International Group surged 35 percent as it said it expects to repay its debts to the government.
The S&P 500 rose 2.2 percent, to 1026.13, this week, boosting its rebound from a 12-year low in March to 52 percent. The Dow Jones industrial average added 184.56 points, or 2 percent, to 9505.96. The Nasdaq composite index climbed 1.8 percent, to 2020.90.
"We have seen the worst of the economic environment," said Hayes Miller, a Boston-based money manager at Baring Asset Management.
Sales of previously owned homes rose to the highest level in almost two years in July, the National Association of Realtors said, adding to evidence that the economy is recovering faster than analysts projected. More than 72 percent of S&P 500 companies beat the average estimate for second-quarter profit, the biggest proportion since Bloomberg began tracking the data in 1993.
Next week, Medtronic, the biggest maker of heart-rhythm devices, and Dell, the second-largest seller of personal computers, are among companies set to release quarterly results.
Yields on 10-year Treasury notes were almost unchanged at 3.57 percent this week. The Treasury will auction $31 billion of three-month bills and $30 billion of six-month bills Monday. They yielded 0.17 percent and 0.27 percent, respectively, in when-issued trading. One-month and one-year bills will be sold Tuesday.
-- Bloomberg News
