Stocks started the day on a down note but pared losses towards the end to close with slim gains as a rally in commodity and consumer related stocks helped offset some dour economic reports. The euro’s rise to three-week highs also caught market participants’ attention as they wondered if it was the beginning of a full-fledged recovery.
The blue-chip Dow Jones industrial average added 25 points to close up 0.2% at 10,434. Seventeen of the thirty components closed with gains, with Alcoa (NYSE:AA), up 2%, Travelers (NYSE:TRV) up 1.7% and General Electric (NYSE:GE), up 1%, leading the advance. The tech-laden NASDAQ composite index, helped by strength in its technology components, added 0.1% at 2307; the broader S&P500 index inched up 0.1% at 1116, helped by the rally in safe-haven utility and consumer staple shares. On the New York Stock Exchange, losers beat winners by a narrow margin on volume of 1.16 billion shares.
Among the ten S&P 500 industry sectors, six recorded gains on the day, led by utilities (+0.7%), consumer goods (+0.4%), technology (+0.4%), health care (+0.1%), oil and gas (+0.1%), and industrials (+0.03%). Leading on the downside were basic materials (-0.5%), consumer services (-0.3%), financials (-0.2%), and telecommunications (-0.1%).
Safe-haven investments such as US Treasuries moved higher, with the 10-year up 20/32, as its yield dropped to 3.192%. Gold prices jumped to an all-time high of $1,247.50, up $18.20, or 1.5%. Crude prices fell 84 cents to $76.83 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Shares in Newmont Mining (NYSE:NEM) jumped 2.3%, nearing a 52-week high; Barrick Gold (NYSE:ABX) shares climbed 3.8%. Reports that an auction of 10- and 30-year Spanish government bonds met with strong demand also helped boost sentiments. Spain raised nearly $4.3 billion through the bond offerings.
