Stocks finished higher for a second day in a row, with the Dow Industrials Index closing above its 15,000 mark as the markets overcame downbeat housing data to end the week with moderate gains.
USD Slides
Most industry sectors finished in the black, led by shares of mining and materials companies as metals and other commodities rallied after the U.S. dollar slid following the larger-than-expected 13.4% decline in sales of newly built homes.
The Commerce Department Friday announced a 13.4% drop in sales of new homes, sparking new fears that rising interest rates could cut into the country's on-and-off economic recovery. Sales fell to a seasonally adjusted rate of 394,000 a year, from 497,000 in June. The market consensus estimate was a 487,000-home annualized pace.
Bond Bounce
The news was bullish for the bond market, however, with Treasury yields falling as much as 8 basis points following the 10 a.m. ET report. The report also seemed to calm investor jitters over upcoming Federal Reserve tapering of its $85-billion-a-month bond-buying program. Comments by several Fed officials coming out of the Kansas City Fed's annual symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyo., that the central bank will rely on economic data before beginning cutting back on its stimulus efforts also proved bullish for stocks.
Crude oil for October delivery settled $1.39 higher at $106.42 per barrel. September natural gas fell 6 cents to finish at $3.49 per 1 million BTU. December gold rose $25 to $1,395.80 per ounce while September silver was up 70 cents to $23.73 per ounce. September copper rose 2 cents to settle at $3.35 per pound.
Here's Where The U.S. Markets Stood At Day's End
- Dow Jones Industrial up 46.62 (+0.31%) to 15,010.36
- S&P 500 up 6.51 (+0.39%) to 1,663.47
- Nasdaq up 19.08 (+0.52%) to 3,657.79
- Hang Seng Index down 0.15%
- Shanghai China Composite down 0.47%
- FTSE 100 Index up 0.70%
- (+) UEPS, Q2 EPS of $0.28 beats average estimate by $0.11 per share. Revenue also tops expectations by $4.6 mln. Projected FY14 earnings of $1.50 per share or more is $0.36 better than Street view.
- (+) MSFT, CEO Steve Ballmer announces plans to retire within the next 12 months once a successor is identified and hired.
- (+) IBCP, Prices 11.5-mln share offering at $7.75 each.
- (-) DLLR, Q4 revenues of $269.1 mln trails analyst consensus by over $14 mln.
- (-) ARO, Q2 per-share net loss of $0.34 is $0.09 wider than analyst consensus. Revenue falls 6% year over year to $454.03 mln, in-line with estimates.
- (-) P, Expects to earn between $0.03 to $0.06 per share, ex items, in Q3, lags Thomson Reuters consensus by at least $0.02. Issues in-line EPS guidance for 12 months ending in January. Q2 EPS of $0.04, ex items, on 55% rise in revenue both top estimates.
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