Stocks Surge as Positive Data, Fed Statement Point to Continued U.S. Recovery

4:09 PM, Mar 13, 2012 -- Stocks closed broadly higher today, boosted by a slew of positive data and the Federal Reserve's latest take on U.S. economic conditions, carrying several of the major market indices past key milestones. A late-day move by JPMorgan & Chase (JPM) raising its quarterly dividend also boosted spirits.

As expected, the Fed made no change in monetary policy, reiterating its highly accommodative interest rate policy through late 2014. It also observed in its post-meeting statement that the U.S. economy has been expanding moderately, with labor market conditions further improving and the unemployment rate falling "notably in recent months but remains elevated." The central bank also said longer-term inflation expectations have remained stable despite the recent jump in crude oil prices.

Retail sales rose at their fastest pace in five months during February, the Commerce Department reported prior to the start of Tuesday trading. Total retail sales climbed 1.1% last month, up from a revised 0.6% rise in January. Economists polled by Reuters had seen retail sales rising 1.0%. The weekly International Council of Shopping Centers and Goldman Sachs Retail Chain Store Sales Index also rose a seasonally adjusted 0.7% during the week ended March 10. On a year-on-year basis, the ICSC index rose 2.3 points.

The Commerce department also reported that business inventories grew by a seasonally adjusted 0.7% in January to $1.57 trillion, beating a Marketwatch poll of experts expecting a 0.5% advance. It was the biggest increase since October and included a 2.6% rise in auto inventories.

In other economic reports today, the National Federation of Independent Business' small-business optimism index rose 0.4 points during February to 94.3 for its sixth consecutive monthly increase and its strongest level since December 2007. Still, the trade group characterized the report as "a mixed bag," with the overall index still at levels it considers recessionary but largely "headed in the right direction."

Also, the Ceridian-UCLA Pulse of Commerce Index rose 0.7% in February following a 1.7% percent decline in the previous month. The index measures diesel fuel consumption data for over-the-road trucking, monitoring the movement of raw materials, goods-in-process and finished goods and serving as an possible indicator of future direction in the U.S. economy. Based on the most recent three-month period, the index is down an annualized 3.2% from the September-to-November 2011 period.

The mostly positive data has helped carry the Dow Industrials past its earlier resistance marks of 13,000 and its former 2012 peak of 13,055. The next mark for the blue-chip index is 13,136, matching its April and May 2008 peaks.

The S&P 500 today rose above specific resistance at 1,370 and 1,378 and traded most of the afternoon around the 1,382 mark, matching its 2011 and 2012 peaks, respectively. The Nasdaq Composite index likewise rose above 3,000 on Tuesday.

In company news, shares of domestic rare-earths miner Molycorp (MCP) jumped almost 8% today after President Obama, the European Union and Japan asked the World Trade Organization to help increase China's exports of rare earths. China currently produces more than 90% of the world's rare earths, used in everything from smartphones to automobile electronics, and sent prices higher over the past two years after Beijing established export quotas.

Also, Urban Outfitters Inc. (URBN) shares was one of the few decliners among retail stocks today, sliding over 5% after reporting a larger-than-expected 48% decline in Q4 earnings resulting from increased discounts.

In deal news today, Great Wolf Resorts Inc. (WOLF) shares jumped 22% after investment manager Apollo Global Management LLC said it would buy the water-park operator for about $703 million, including debt. Shares of Midas Inc. (MDS) jumped over 27% to $27.46 a share after the auto-repair chain agreed to be taken private by replacement-tire supplier TBC Corp. for $11.50 a share.

Commodities were mixed today. Crude-oil futures settled higher with the April NYMEX contract ending at $106.71 a barrel, up 37 cents. Natural gas again tested multi-year lows, only to reverse course late and settling 3 cents higher at $2.30 per 1 million British Thermal Units. Gold futures finished below $1,700 an ounce, with the April contract down $5.50 to $1,694.20 in New York COMEX trade. May copper was ahead 6.5 cents at $3.9025 a pound with May silver adding nearly 17 cents to settle at $33.58 an ounce.

Among energy ETFs, the United States Oil Fund is up 0.57% to $40.93 with the United States Natural Gas Fund down 1.90% to $17.56. Among precious-metal funds, the Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF is up 0.53% to 52.65 and the SPDR Gold Trust is down 0.05% to $164.98. The iShares Silver Trust is up 0.12% to $32.67.

Here's where the markets stand at end-of-day:

Dow Jones Industrial Average up 217.97 (+1.68%) to 13,177.68.

S&P 500 up up 24.87 (+1.81%) to 1,395.96.

NASDAQ Composite Index up up 56.22 (+1.88%) to 3,039.88.

GLOBAL SENTIMENT

Hang Seng Index up 0.97%.

China Shanghai Composite Index up .

FTSE 100 up .

UPSIDE MOVERS

(+) EBIX, Beat Q4 estimates with $0.44 per share profit. Revenues jump 44% year-over-year.

(+) CHDN, Q4 EPS of $0.25 reverses $0.26 a share net loss last year; Street expected $0.13 loss.

DOWNSIDE MOVERS

(-) SB, Announced plans to sell up to 5.75 million shares in a public offering of stock.

(-) COOL, Q1 EPS of $0.19 misses by a penny; FY12 earnings guidance just meets Street view.