U.S. Stocks in 3-Day Rally, Weekly Jobless Claims Fall

Nichole Harper
27 Jun, 2013
New York City

U.S. indexes rallied for the third day in a row and leading indexes gained as much as 1%. Weekly jobless claims declined and personal spending rose, lifting market sentiment. Average mortgage rate rose to a 2-year high to 4.46%.

[R]11:55 AM New York – U.S. indexes rallied for the third day in a row and leading indexes gained as much as 1%. Weekly jobless claims declined and personal spending rose, lifting market sentiment. Average mortgage rate rose to a 2-year high to 4.46%.[/R]

U.S. stocks rallied for the third day in a row and banks and home builders led the gainers.

The S&P 500 index increased 0.8% or 12.7 to 1,616 and the Nasdaq Composite Index added 30.46 or 0.9% to 3,406.81.

Also comments from Federal Reserve Bank of New York President William C. Dudley said central bank may continue to purchase government bonds if the economy grows below Fed’s forecast.

Weekly Jobless Claims Fall

Initial jobless claims in the last week fell to 346,000, down from a revised 355,000 in the previous week, the Labor Department said today in Washington.

The four-week average of claims declined to 345,750, down 2,750 from the previous week.

In a separate report, the Commerce Department said personal income increased 0.5% in May after a revised 0.1% in April. Personal consumption expenditure increased 0.3% in May after falling 0.3% in April.

The latest data added to a list of other economic data that suggested that the U.S. economic growth is rebounding in the second quarter after a lackluster performance in the first quarter.

European Markets

European markets rebounded and completed the largest gains in two days for most national indexes after the U.S. economic data suggested personal spending increased last month.

In London trading, the FTSE 100 index increased 1.4% and in Frankfurt the DAX index gained 0.9%. In Paris, CAC 40 index added 1.2%.

Asian Markets

Markets in Asia rebounded after Chinese money market crunch eased. Market indexes in Japan soared nearly 3% after the yen declined but institutional investors trimmed stock exposure to the record low of 28%.

The benchmark index in Mumbai soared 1.8% and the rupees gained after current account deficit narrowed to $18.1 billion in three months to March from $31.9 billion in previous three months.

The Reserve Bank of India released the data earlier than scheduled to calm currency market after the rupee dropped yesterday to a record low and rose above 60 to a dollar for the first time.

Elsewhere in Asia, the index in Hong Kong gained 0.5% and the index in Jakarta surged 2.4% and in Seoul soared nearly 2.9%.

U.S. Stocks in Review

Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. ((BBBY)) fell 5 cents to $69.94 after the retailer reported net sales in the first quarter ending on June 1 climbed 18% to $2.61 billion. Comparable store sales for the quarter surged 41%.

Net earnings in the quarter slid 2% to $202.5 million or 93 cents a diluted per share compared to $206.8 million or 89 cents.

For the second quarter, the company expects earnings per diluted share in the range of $1.11 to $1.16 and for the full year expects diluted earnings in the range of $4.84 to $5.01.

ConAgra Foods, Inc. ((CAG)) soared 5.7% or $1.94 to $35.30 after the food company said net sales in the fourth quarter ending on May 26 jumped 34% to $4.59 billion. In the quarter, net swung to profit $192.2 million or 45 cents a diluted share compared to net loss $86.2 million or 21 cents.

Herman Miller Inc ((MHLR)) decreased 7.4% after the maker of office furniture estimated adjusted first quarter earnings per share between 36 cents and 41 cents compared to analyst estimates of at least 45 cents.