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U.S. Stocks Advance on Chinese Economy, Syria Proposal
<cite class="byline" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 11px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; width: 640px; color: rgb(111, 111, 111); display: block; font-style: normal; line-height: 1.3em; position: static !important; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">By Nikolaj Gammeltoft - Sep 11, 2013 1:33 AM GMT+0800</cite>
U.S. stocks climbed, extending the longest winning streak for the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index since July, as data showed China’s economy is improving amid signs of easing tensions over Syria.
Apple Inc. (AAPL) fluctuated between gains and losses as the world’s biggest technology company unveiled new iPhone models. Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Visa Inc. and Nike Inc. jumped more than 1.7 percent as the three companies will be added to the Dow Jones Industrial Average, replacing Bank of America Corp., Hewlett-Packard Co. and Alcoa Inc. McDonald’s Corp. climbed 0.4 percent as sales at stores open at least 13 months topping estimates.
The S&P 500 advanced 0.6 percent to 1,682.31 at 1:32 p.m. in New York. The index has gained for six straight days, the most since July 15. The Dow rose 103.99 points, or 0.7 percent, to 15,167.11 today. Trading in S&P 500 stocks was 17 percent higher than the 30-day average at this time of day.
“The news from Syria is positive and we had decent economic data out of China,” Gary Flam, a portfolio manager at Bel Air Investment Advisors LLC in Los Angeles, said in a phone interview. His firm oversees $7 billion. “Investors came into September cautiously positioned, but one by one their concerns are being removed or lessened.”
The S&P 500 has risen 3 percent in the first six trading days of the month, recovering from a drop of as much as 4.6 percent since a record high on Aug. 2. The benchmark index (TRAN)declined amid concern over a possible military strike against Syria and the prospect for theFederal Reserve scaling back its monetary stimulus.
Russian Plan
France said it will submit a Russian-backed plan to confiscate Syria’s chemical weapons to theUnited Nations, as Interfax reported that Bashar al-Assad’s government accepted the proposal.
President Barack Obama is scheduled to outline his intentions on Syria in a speech at 9 p.m. tonight in Washington. New York-based Human Rights Watch said in a report today that the Syrian government is the probable perpetrator of a chemical weapons attack on Aug. 21 that killed hundreds of people in the suburbs of Damascus.
Stocks rose earlier today after China’s industrial output rose 10.4 percent in August from a year earlier and retail sales gained 13.4 percent, the National Bureau of Statistics said today. Both results exceeded economists’ estimates. The S&P 500 climbed yesterday and the Dow surged the most in two months as China’s exports topped forecasts.
Fed Meeting
The Fed is watching economic data ahead of its Sept. 17-18 meeting as it considers reducing its monthly $85 billion in asset buying. The S&P 500 has rallied as much as 153 percent since the beginning of the bull market in March 2009 as the central bank continued to provide stimulus to the economy.
Economists estimate the Fed this month will taper its monthly bond buying by $10 billion, to $75 billion, according to the median of 34 responses in a Bloomberg News survey.
The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index (VIX), or VIX, dropped 6 percent to 14.70. The equity volatility gauge is down 14 percent in September after rallying 26 percent in August, the biggest monthly gain since May 2012.
The Dow Jones Transportation Index jumped 1.6 percent to the highest level in a month. Shares in companies whose earnings are most closely tied to economic growth rose, sending the Morgan Stanley Cyclical Index up 1.5 percent to the highest level since the gauge started in 1978. Financial and industrial shares rallied the most among 10 groups in the S&P 500, adding at least 1.1 percent.
General Electric Co. advanced 2.3 percent to $23.93 for the biggest gain in the Dow. Microsoft Corp. climbed 1.8 percent to $32.23, United Technologies Corp., the maker of Pratt & Whitney jet engines and Sikorsky helicopters, increased 1.8 percent to $106.35.
Dow Members
Goldman Sachs climbed 3.6 percent to $165.25. Nike jumped 1.7 percent to $66.49 and Visa increased 3.1 percent to $184.10. Hewlett-Packard lost 0.4 percent to $22.27. Alcoa slipped 0.6 percent to $8.04. Bank of America added 1.3 percent to $14.67.
The changes to the Dow, announced by S&P Dow Jones Indices, will take place after the close of the market on Sept. 20, and will be the first reshuffling of the gauge since September 2012.
McDonald’s climbed 0.4 percent to $96.85. The world’s largest restaurant chain said same-store sales increased 1.9 percent last month, helped by demand in Europe. Analysts projected a 0.3 percent increase, the average of 16 estimates from Consensus Metrix. McDonald’s said it benefited from demand in France and Russia as well as the introduction of blended-ice beverages in the U.K.
Apple Presentation
E*Trade Financial Corp. soared 3.9 to $17.16, the highest level since February 2011. The online brokerage said its daily average revenue-generating trades rose 5 percent in August compared to the previous month and the stock was upgraded to outperform from neutral at Macquarie Group Ltd.
Apple swung between gains and losses. The company updated its flagship iPhone product at an event at its Cupertino, California, headquarters today.
Urban Outfitters Inc. fell the most in the S&P 500, losing 10 percent to $38.33. The teen-clothing retailer said third-quarter comparable sales so far are growing at a mid-single-digit pace. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC last week estimated the company would report that the sales were running at a “high-single digit” rate.
To contact the reporter on this story: Nikolaj Gammeltoft in New York [email protected]
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Lynn Thomasson [email protected]
