A modest rise in consumer spending and signs debt issues in Greece and other European nations were easing helped send stocks higher on Monday. Greece’s announcement to raise as much as $6.71 billion through a 7-year bond offering gave markets some reprieve as the country demonstrated its ability to access the credit markets.
And as sovereign debt worries took a temporary backseat, the allure of US treasuries took a beating too. The yield on the 30-year notes rose two basis points to a nine-month high of 4.76%. The euro showed strength and the greenback, up 1.2% last week, retreated 0.5%.
Meanwhile, banking analyst Richard Bove of Rochdale Securities continued with his “buy” stance on Citigroup (NYSE:C) shares even as shares in the bank declined another 3% Monday after the Treasury announced plans to sell its stake in the troubled bank this year. Bove noted the move is unlikely to prove too disruptive to the stock.
Energy stocks were in demand yesterday and contributed to strength in the broader market. On the Dow, Chevron (NYSE:CVX) and Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) once again led the gainers. Exxon Mobil climbed 1.1%, to $67.30, and Chevron advanced 1.1% to close at $75.23. Schlumberger (NYSE;SLB), not a Dow component, rose 2.3%, to $63.07.
The Dow Jones industrial average climbed 45 points, or 0.4%, closing the day at 10,895, its highest level in 18 months. The broader S&P 500 index advanced 7 points, or 0.6% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite rose 9 points, or 0.4%. Meanwhile, the market’s measure of volatility, the CBOE Vix, fell 1.0% to 17.59. On the New York Stock Exchange, advancing shares ran ahead of decliners by a two-to-one margin as volume moderated to a mere 0.945 billion shares.
Only seven of the thirty DJIA components closed the day in the red as the index moved closer to the psychologically-significant 11,000 level. Gains on the S&P were broad based with all ten industry sectors registering gains for the day. The index was helped by strength in its oil and gas (+1.8%) and basic material (+1.3%) components.
