Dow Soars 1.5%; Nasdaq Surges 2.1%; Gold Above $1,500

Bikram Pandey
20 Apr, 2011
New York City

The Dow and the S&P 500 index soars more than 1.5% as large companies and technology companies led the advance. Earnings from IBM and Intel lift tech stocks. Gold crosses $1,500 an ounce and silver above $44. Crude oil advanced above $111 a barrel.

[R]4:10 PM New York – The Dow and the S&P 500 index soars more than 1.5% as large companies and technology companies led the advance. Earnings from IBM and Intel lift tech stocks. Gold crosses $1,500 an ounce and silver above $44. Crude oil advanced above $111 a barrel.[/R]

U.S. indexes surged more than 1.5% after better than expected earnings from IBM, Wells Fargo and Intel. Tech heavy Nasdaq index soared 2.1%. Commodities also led after gold surged above $1,500 and silver traded above $44 price level. The dollar declined against the euro by 1.1%.

In earnings news, AT&T first quarter net income soared 39% to $3.4 billion. Abbott first quarter net earnings declined 13% to $864 million. Intel first quarter net income soared 29% to $3.16 billion. IBM first quarter net income rose 11% to $2.9 billion. Wells Fargo second quarter net income surged 48% to $3.8 billion.

Across the Atlantic in Europe, wholesale inflation was on the rise in several countries on the increase in commodities prices.

German producer price inflation slackened in March and in Sweden, Riksbank raised key rate by a quarter percentage point to 1.75%. Dutch consumer sentiment deteriorated in April. Italian industrial orders improved in February. Iceland jobless rate rose in the first quarter.

European indexes surged ahead after Spain successfully raised €3.4 billion from bonds sale. ProSiebenSat.1 S agreed to sell its TV and print units for €1.23 billion. Peugeot revenues rose 10% reflecting growth in emerging markets.

The UK indexes soared led by technology stocks. Tate & Lyle agreed to sell Vietnamese sugar interests for £33 million. Northgate inked debt refinancing package. Chemring agreed to buy detection systems unit of General Dynamics for £55.2 million. Rio Tinto raised stake in Riversdale to 72%.

Stocks in Tokyo soared after Intel reported better than expected earnings. Chipmakers soared. The broader indexes advanced and Nikkei gained 1.8%. Commodities linked stocks gained after crude oil, gold and silver closed higher.

Sensex in Mumbai trading soared 1.8% on the prediction of normal monsoon season. Earnings also contributed to the sentiment. HCL Technologies surged nearly 10% after quarterly earnings gained 17%. Jindal Steel & Power commenced its offer for Australia based coal miner Rocklands Richfields.

Australian stocks gained as commodities advanced and crude oil price gained. The Australian dollar gained and import price index increased 1.4% in the first quarter to March. BHP Billiton reported higher than expected coal and iron ore production in March.

Commodities, Bonds and Currencies

The 10-year bond yield increased to 3.38% and 30-year bond gained to 4.44%.

The U.S. dollar decreased to $1.4501 to a euro and fell against the Japanese yen to 82.36 yen.

Immediate delivery futures of Texas crude oil increased $3.08 to $111.36 a barrel, of natural gas increased 0.07 cents to $4.33 per mbtu and gasoline prices increased 2.65 cents to 325.99 cents a gallon.

In metals trading, copper prices increased 4.3 cents to $4.26 per pound, gold increased $7.30 to $1,502.40 per ounce and silver increased $0.81 to $44.72.