U.S. Stocks Gain as Economy Data Signal Strengthening Recovery
April 05, 2010, 1:28 PM EDT
By Whitney Kisling
April 5 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. stocks rose, with the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index climbing to an 18-month high, as the biggest increase in jobs in three years and growth in service industries and home sales boosted optimism about the economy.
Caterpillar Inc., American Express Co. and General Electric Co. helped lead gains that also sent the Dow Jones Industrial Average to the highest level since September 2008. Apple Inc. advanced after saying it sold 300,000 iPads on the device’s first day of availability. ConocoPhillips and Exxon Mobil Corp. climbed as crude oil reached its highest price in 17 months.
“What we’ve got with this jobs number is a very robust confirmation of something we’ve been talking about since the third quarter of 2009 -- and that’s a global economic expansion,” said Stephen Wood, who helps manage $176 billion as chief market strategist for Russell Investments in New York. “This is probably one of the final pieces of confirming data, and stocks are benefiting.”
The S&P 500 advanced 0.7 percent to 1,186.64 at 1:23 p.m. in New York. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 42.17 points, or 0.3 percent, to 10,969.24. The S&P 500 rose 1 percent last week and the Dow increased 0.7 percent.
U.S. payrolls rose by 162,000 last month, less than forecast, after a revised 14,000 decrease in February that was smaller than initially estimated, figures from the U.S. Labor Department showed on April 2. The March increase included 48,000 temporary workers hired by the government to help conduct the 2010 census. The unemployment rate held at 9.7 percent.
Service Industries, Home Sales
Other reports today showed faster-than-estimated growth in service industries and an unexpected increase in pending U.S. home sales.
“This environment of continued improvement in the economy, combined with still low interest rates and improving corporate profits, represents a sort of ‘sweet spot’ for risk assets,” Bob Doll, vice chairman and global chief investment officer for equities at New York-based BlackRock Inc., which oversees $3.4 trillion, wrote in a note today. “It makes sense for investors to continue overweight equities.”
