Wall Street Rally Lifts Nasdaq to 11-year High

Bikram Pandey
03 Feb, 2012
New York City

U.S. markets rallied after the release of January jobless data. S&P 500 index gained 1.4% and the Nasdaq added 1.6%. For the week, the two leading indexes gained more than 2%. European markets advanced on the hopes that Greek talks will end this weekend.

[R]5:35 PM New York – U.S. markets rallied after the release of January jobless data. S&P 500 index gained 1.4% and the Nasdaq added 1.6%. For the week, the two leading indexes gained more than 2%. European markets advanced on the hopes that Greek talks will end this weekend.[/R]

U.S. stocks surged and broader indexes gained for the fifth week in a row after the release unemployment data. Investors cheered the decline in the unemployment for the fifth month in a row.

S&P 500 index jumped 1.5% and for the week gained 2.2% and the Nasdaq gained 1.6% and for the week gained 3.2% and reached the highs last seen on November 24, 2000.

Jobless rate fell in January to 8.3% and non-farm payrolls increased 243,000. The monthly unemployment rate fell for the fifth month in a row.

The latest jobless data was yet another confirmation that the U.S. economy is gathering momentum after the improved auto sales in January and stable consumer and business spending and worldwide manufacturing expansion.

In corporate news, Estee Lauder dropped 4% after it estimated lower than expected earnings. Aon fourth quarter net increased to $279.8 million. Allergan fourth quarter net increased to $279.8 million. Atmel expects fourth quarter revenues to be dropped 20% to $384 million. Tyson Foods first quarter net slipped to $156 million.

European markets closed higher and advanced in the week as miners and bank led the gainers. Market sentiment was cautious after Greek bailout cost was raised by €15 billion.

Japanese stocks declined after a set of weak earnings and uncertainty in the euro zone and ahead of the U.S. jobs report. Nippon Sheet Glass and Oji Paper declined weak quarterly performance. Sumco Cop soared after it announced to eliminate 15% of its staff.

Australian stocks edged lower and declined in the week for the first time this year. Commodities traded lower. The service sector index expanded at the fastest pace in five months in January. Magma Metals soared after it received a takeover bid from Panoramic Resources.

Commodities, Bonds and Currencies

The yield on 10-year U.S. bond increased to 1.93% and 30-year bond gained to 3.13%.

The U.S. dollar traded down 0.1% to $1.314 to one euro and traded against the Japanese yen at 76.55.

Immediate delivery futures of Texas crude oil fell $1.40 to $97.76 a barrel and futures of natural gas fell 4 cents to $2.50 per mbtu and gasoline price increased 4.7 cents to 291.7 cents a gallon.

In metals trading, copper increased 12.4 cents to $3.90 per pound, gold decreased $31.90 to $1,727.40 per ounce and silver fell 58 cents to $33.60.