BLBG: Stocks, Commodities Gain as Earnings, Data Boost Optimism
By Rita Nazareth and Gavin Serkin
April 14 (Bloomberg) -- Stocks and metals rallied and oil halted a five-day slide as better-than-estimated corporate earnings and U.S. retail sales fueled confidence in the global economic rebound. Treasury 10-year note yields traded near a three-week low as a report showed inflation remained subdued.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index climbed for a fifth straight day, rising 0.4 percent at 9:57 a.m. in New York. The MSCI Emerging Markets Index increased 1.1 percent, led by a rally in Korea after Moody’s Investors Service raised the nation’s credit ratings. Nickel and zinc rose 1.7 percent to lead industrial metals higher in London, while oil climbed above $85 a barrel. Ten-year Treasury yields hovered near 3.8 percent.
JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Intel Corp. posted earnings that topped analysts’ average estimates, while government data showed U.S. retail sales climbed the most in four months in March and the cost of living excluding food and energy was unchanged. Korea reported its biggest drop in unemployment in a decade and economists predicted China will report its fastest increase in gross domestic product in almost three years tomorrow.
“On the corporate front, we got good earnings reports from Intel and JPMorgan,” said Peter Jankovskis, who helps manage about $1.8 billion as co-chief investment officer at Oakbrook Investments in Lisle, Illinois. “We had pretty good retail sales and CPI numbers. They tell us that the economy is growing without a significant threat of inflation. That gives the Fed room to keep its low interest-rate policy.”
Fed Outlook
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke is scheduled to testify before the Joint Economic Committee of Congress at 10 a.m. on the economic outlook. The central bank will release its Beige Book regional business survey at 2 p.m.
The S&P 500 climbed above 1,200 for the first time since September 2008, the month of Lehman Brothers Inc.’s bankruptcy. Intel and JPMorgan rallied at least 2.7 percent for the top gains in the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Combined first- quarter profit for S&P 500 companies increased 30 percent from a year earlier, according to analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg.
The MSCI Emerging Markets Index rose to the highest level since July 2008. Korea’s benchmark rose to the highest since June of that year as Shinhan Financial Group Co., the country’s third-biggest financial company, climbed the most in two months. Russia’s Micex Index jumped 1.6 percent as government officials meet with bondholders today for the country’s first Eurobond sale since 1998.
Global Advance
The MSCI World Index of 23 developed nations’ stocks gained 0.7 percent as the MSCI Asia Pacific Index climbed 0.7 percent. Samsung Electronics Co., the world’s biggest chipmaker after Intel, gained 2.1 percent in Seoul. Tokyo Electron Ltd. advanced 3.6 percent in Tokyo after the company said orders rose. DBS Group Holdings Ltd., Southeast Asia’s biggest bank, climbed 4.6 percent in Singapore.
The Stoxx Europe 600 Index advanced 0.7 percent as basic- resources and technology shares rallied. Rio Tinto Group gained 1.9 percent in London. Infineon Technologies AG, Europe’s second-largest chipmaker, climbed 2.9 percent in Frankfurt. STMicroelectronics NV gained 3.2 percent in Paris.
Allied Irish Banks Plc surged 5.2 percent in Dublin after Goldman Sachs Group Inc. recommended the shares.
Greek bonds fell, with the yield on the nation’s benchmark two-year note rising 54 basis points to 6.64 percent, after Pacific Investment Management Co. and BlackRock Inc. said it’s too early to buy the securities after the European Union brokered the nation’s 45 billion-euro ($61 billion) aid package.
Greek Stocks
National Bank of Greece SA, the nation’s biggest lender, led Greek stocks lower, slipping 4.1 percent in Athens as the benchmark ASE Index lost 1.7 percent.
Greece and Portugal led an increase in the cost of insuring against default on sovereign debt. The European Union said Portugal may need additional budget measures this year to meet its deficit target, fueling concern the Greek debt crisis may worsen. Swaps on Greece surged 28 basis points to 408.5 and Portugal jumped 13 to 168, according to CMA DataVision.
Aluminum for delivery in three months rose 0.8 percent to $2,454.25 a metric ton on the London Metal Exchange, after earlier reaching $2,462. Nickel advanced 1.6 percent to $25,919 a ton. Zinc, tin and copper also appreciated. Gold added 0.3 percent to $1,154.05 an ounce, rising for the first time in three days.
To contact the reporter on this story: Rita Nazareth in New York at rnazareth@bloomberg.net.
