Dow industrials within reach of 13,000, level not seen since May 2008
By Kate Gibson, MarketWatch
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — U.S. stocks held marginal gains Friday, with the S&P 500 index near a nine-month high, on hopes Greece would get another round of rescue funds.
“The marketing is betting there is not going to be a disorderly default in Greece, but there is still some caution ahead,” said Nick Raich, director of research with Key Private Bank in Cleveland.
Euro-area finance ministers will meet in Brussels on Monday, when U.S. markets are closed for the Presidents Day holiday. While the ministers were expected to approve another round of funds for Greece, negotiations have been known to unravel in the recent past.
Within reach of the 13,000 milestone last hit in mid-2008, the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA +0.20% was lately up 27.85 points, or 0.2%, to 12,931.93, with 16 of its 30 components rising.
The S&P 500 Index SPX +0.05% gained 1 point to 1,358.97, with the industrial sector rising the most among its 10 industry groups and health care taking the hardest hit.
General Mills Inc. GIS -3.95% shares fell about 4% after the cereal maker trimmed its 2012 outlook.
The Nasdaq Composite COMP -0.41% fell 12.80 points, or 0.4%, to 2,947.05.
Gold futures GCJ2 -0.40% fell and yields on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note 10_YEAR +1.81% rose above 2% as investors retreated from assets viewed as safe, while the dollar edged up against an index DXY -0.02% of other global currencies, although the greenback lost ground to the euro EURUSD +0.14% .
Meanwhile, crude-oil futures CLH2 +0.67% neared $103 a barrel in New York. Read more on oil.
For every three stocks losing ground roughly four gained on the New York Stock Exchange, where 418 million shares traded as of 11:40 a.m. Eastern.
”We continue to be encouraged by recent domestic economic data flow,” said Fred Dickson, chief investment strategist at Davidson Cos., referring to Thursday’s decline in jobless claims to a near four-year low.
On Friday, U.S. economic data supported the Federal Reserve’s view that inflation remains in check. See story about gasoline’s role in CPI data.
“There are massive deflationary forces coming out of Europe, versus central banks across the world doing everything they can to inflate the economy,” noted Raich at Key Private Bank.
Stocks also took in stride a Conference Board report that its index of leading economic indicators rose for a fourth month in January. Read details of Conference Board’s report
