S&P 500 Index Soars 1.7%; Oil, Gold Head Lower

Bikram Pandey
03 Mar, 2011
New York City

U.S. indexes gained on a dip in oil and jobless claims declined to the level last seen in May 2008. The crude oil declined to $100 a barrel after Arab leaders work to bring a peace in Libya. J.C. Penney, Macy

[R]4:00 PM New York – U.S. indexes gained on a dip in oil and jobless claims declined to the level last seen in May 2008. The crude oil declined to $100 a barrel after Arab leaders work to bring a peace in Libya. J.C. Penney, Macy’s, Limited and Nordstrom reported same store sales gains.[/R]

U.S. stocks gained after crude oil prices eased for the first time in three days, service industry expanded in February and initial claims of unemployment declined 20,000 to 368,000 last week and dropped to last seen in May 2008.

The stock opened higher in the morning and extended gains in the afternoon on a steady volume on a strength in retailers, resource stocks and banks.

The Institute for Supply Management said non-manufacturing businesses increased to 59.7 in February to from 59.4 in January.

Same store sales at select department stores increased in February. J.C. Penney sales increased 6.4%, at Macy’s rose 5.8% and Ross Stores rose 3%.

AIG raised $9.6 billion from sale of MetLife stake.

Big Lots fourth quarter net income gained 4.5%. H.J. Heinz third quarter net income increased 20% to $273.78 million. Royal Bank of Canada first quarter net income surged 23%. The Kroger fourth quarter net income soared to $278.8 million. Valero gained after it estimated quarterly earnings of 30 cents a share.

The European indexes soared after the ECB retained key rate; European service sector activity showed mixed trends and retail sales improved. Spanish consumer confidence rose in February. Total agreed to acquire minority stake in Russia-based Novatek for $4 billion.

The UK indexes rebounded after oil prices declined. The UK home prices fell and service sector growth slowed in February. Irish service sector activity improved in February. The UK government approved News Corp.'s merger with BskyB. Japan-based Itochu agreed to acquire Kwik-Fit for £637 million.

Stocks in Japan closed higher on positive U.S. economic data. Panasonic completed the sale of $6 billion bond offering, the largest offering from a non-financial Japanese company. Exporters and automakers led the gainers in Tokyo trading.

Stocks in Shanghai edged lower ahead of plenary meeting this week and approve several economic projects. China has targeted 7% economic growth in the period between 2011 and 2015. China said former Railways Minster Liu is under bribery investigation. Airlines declined as crude oil traded above $100 a barrel.

Mumbai stocks edged up in a choppy trading as auto and two-wheelers sales rise. Bajaj Auto and Hero Honda report sharp gain in unit sales. Cement companies gained after ACC and UltraTech reported higher shipments in February. The latest wholesale price index showed a slight decline.

Stocks in Australia edged higher in a quiet trading. Resource and healthcare stocks led the gainers in trading. Australian trade surplus in January narrowed to $1.88 billion and home construction approvals fell 15.9%.

Commodities, Bonds and Currencies

Yield on 10-year bond increased to 3.57% and on 30-year bond rose to 4.63%.

The U.S. dollar decreased to $1.394 to a euro and rose against the Japanese yen to 82.35 yen.

Immediate delivery futures of Texas crude oil decreased $0.32 to $101.91 a barrel, for natural gas fell 0.01 cents to $3.80 per mbtu and gasoline prices decreased 3.36 cents to 299.59 cents a gallon.

In metals trading, copper prices decreased 0.55 cents to $4.49 per pound, gold decreased $24.40 to $1,413.00 per ounce and silver fell $0.79 to $34.04.