US stocks ended with modest gains on Wednesday, 08 May 2013. Indices continued to strike record highs. Stocks rose on Wednesday, with the S&P 500 extending record gains into a fifth session, after companies including Electronic Arts projected earnings that beat estimates. Stocks had begun the day on a lower note.
For the day, the Dow ended higher by 48.92 points (0.32%) at 15,105.12. Nasdaq ended higher by 16.64 points (0.5%) at 3,413.3. S&P 500 ended higher by 6.73 points (0.4%) at 1,632.69. It was Dow's second straight record close.
Materials and technology led sector gains, while utilities led losses among the S&P 500's 10 major industry groups.
Equities began the session lower, but the recent trend of sidelined investors waiting for dips to buy stocks came back into play, with stocks bouncing back during the morning.
In the earnings area, Electronic Arts rallied 17% and Whole Foods Market jumped 10% after the upscale grocer raised its full-year profit forecast.
Cyclical sectors displayed early weakness, but a handful of growth-oriented groups pushed stocks higher shortly after the open. The materials space was a notable outperformer as industrial metals traded higher after China reported a better-than-expected trade surplus, which saw an above-consensus improvement in imports and exports.
China on Wednesday reported a trade surplus of $18.2 billion in April compared to expectations of a $15.6 billion surplus. Both imports and exports exceeded market expectations. Asian stock markets were supported on the China news. Also, better-than-expected German industrial production data for April was reported, at up 1.2% when a 0.2% decline was expected. The better China and German data gave a boost to the raw commodity sector.
Latest economic data from US showed that the weekly MBA Mortgage Index, rose 7.0% to follow last week's increase of 1.8%.
In the currency market, the dollar index, which weighs the strength of the dollar against a basket of six other currencies, fell by 0.1% on Wednesday.
Steelmakers also showed strength after Rio Tinto said it expects iron ore demand to remain intact. Financials also contributed to broad market gains as large components trade higher.
The discretionary space was not been able to stage a reversal similar to other growth-sensitive sectors. Media stocks were mixed despite a bottom-line beat reported by Dow component Walt Disney. In addition, homebuilders traded lower across the board.
Steady selling across the Treasury complex had pushed the 10-yr yield lower by two basis points to 1.759%.
Today, the tech sector was among the leaders as Apple and Google traded with respective gains of 1.1% and 1.3%.
Crude-oil prices ended higher on Wednesday, 08 May 2013 at Nymex. June crude oil rose following a weak dollar, Chinese trade data and weekly inventory report showing less than expected buildup in crude stockpiles for last week.
Light and sweet crude for June ended higher by $1 (1.1%) at $96.62 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange on Wednesday.
The EIA reported in the latest weekly inventory report on crude and crude stockpiles that the total crude supplies rose 200,000 barrels for the week ended Friday. Market had expected a 1.9 million-barrel climb. Crude supply level for the week, at 395.5 million barrels, topped the prior week's 395.3 million. For the petroleum products, Wednesday's EIA report showed that distillate supplies rose by 1.8 million barrels, while gasoline stockpiles fell by 900,000 barrels. Distillate stockpiles, which include heating oil, were expected to rise by 1 million barrels, while forecasts called for a decline of 750,000 barrels for gasoline.
Bullion metal prices ended substantially higher on Wednesday, 08 May 2013. Comex gold futures ended the U.S. day session with sharp gains Wednesday, boosted by upbeat economic data coming out of China and by bullish outside market forces - a lower U.S. dollar index and firmer crude oil prices. Gold's gains also followed Chinese trade data, which showed a swing to a surplus in April after a small deficit in March.
Gold for June delivery ended higher by $24.9 (1.7%) at $1,473.7 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange on Wednesday. July silver ended higher by $0.12 cents (0.5%) at $23.93 an ounce on Wednesday.
For every stock on the decline, nearly two rose on the New York Stock Exchange, where 728 million shares traded. Composite volume neared 3.5 billion.
Indian ADRs ended mixed on Wednesday. In the IT space, Infosys was down 0.3% and Wipro was up 1.4%. In the Banking space, HDFC Bank was up 1.2% and ICICI Bank was down 0.3%. In the Telecom space, Tata Communication was up 1%. In other space, Tata Motors was up 1.4%, Dr Reddys was up 0.2% and Sterlite was down 0.14%.
Tomorrow, economic data will be limited to the initial claims and continuing claims data. Earning reports will continue to flow in.
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