Wall Street Rally Lifts S&P 500 Index Above 1,400

Bikram Pandey
15 Mar, 2012
New York City

U.S. indexes advanced and the S&P 500 index and the Nasdaq added 0.5%. The S&P 500 index crossed 1,400 for the first time since June 2008. The European indexes also extended rally with the benchmark index in Germany up 21% in the year so far.

[R]4:00 PM New York – U.S. indexes advanced and the S&P 500 index and the Nasdaq added 0.5%. The S&P 500 index crossed 1,400 for the first time since June 2008. The European indexes also extended rally with the benchmark index in Germany up 21% in the year so far.[/R]

U.S. stocks inched higher after jobless claims dropped to a 4-year low, producer prices increased 0.4% in February and manufacturing in the Northeast advanced. Foreclosure filings declined 8% in February.

Investors focused on the steady decline in the initial jobless claims and overlooked the building inflationary pressures and the elevated foreclosure filings.

In corporate news, Radvision Ltd gained 4% after it agreed to a merger with Avaya Inc for $230 million. Guess plunged 11% after it reported weaker than expected revenues. Ross Stores fourth quarter net increased 19%. Eagle Bulk Shipping dropped 9%. Scholastic Corp lifted its 2012 outlook.

European indexes gained after France and Spain sold bonds today at lower borrowing costs. Employment in the euro area fell in the fourth quarter and the SNB held rates.

Stocks in Tokyo closed higher for the third day in a row and extended eight month high as the yen dropped to a 11-month low. Mazda Motor soared after its newly released sports utility vehicle exceeded monthly sales target.

Australian stocks eased after rallying the past week. Caution prevailed after comments from China suggested that the fast rising nation may need to embrace lower economic growth. Myer, the retail chain reported 20% decline in net income in the first half.

Commodities, Bonds and Currencies

The 10-year U.S. bond yield increased to 2.28% and 30-year U.S. bond traded higher to 3.41%.

The U.S. dollar decreased to $1.309 to one euro and closed higher against the Japanese yen to 83.37 yen.

Immediate delivery futures of Texas crude oil decreased 7 cents to $105.35 a barrel and Brent crude futures fell $1.85 to $122.10. Futures of natural gas decreased 0.02 cents to $2.26 per mbtu and gasoline price decreased 6.2 cents to 328.54 cents a gallon.

In metals trading, copper added 4.50 cents to $3.89 per pound, gold rebounded $16.10 to $1,659 per ounce and silver increased 32 cents to $32.50.