March 25 (Bloomberg) -- Most U.S. stocks rose for a third day as a rally in commodity producers helped the market overcome weakening consumer confidence and a record drop in home prices.
Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc., Newmont Mining Corp. and Alcoa Inc. carried the Standard & Poor's 500 Index to its first three-day advance in a month after metal prices increased. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, which swung between gains and losses at least 40 times, ended lower as Bank of America Corp. and Home Depot Inc. retreated. Monsanto Co., the largest seed producer, rallied the most in seven years after boosting its earnings forecast.
The S&P 500 added 3.11 points, or 0.2 percent, to 1,352.99 and climbed 4.2 percent over the past three days. The Dow lost 16.04, or 0.1 percent, to 12,532.6. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 14.3, or 0.6 percent, to 2,341.05. Two stocks gained for every one that fell on the New York Stock Exchange.
``Prices across the commodity space dropped pretty dramatically'' last week, said Malcolm Polley, president and chief investment officer at Stewart Capital Advisors LLC, which manages $1 billion in Indiana, Pennsylvania. ``That gave investors like myself that pay attention to valuations an opportunity to start to build positions in names we like.''
The S&P 500 has rebounded 6.3 percent from a 19-month low on March 10 as the Federal Reserve pumped cash into the banking system and slashed interest rates in an effort to restore confidence in financial markets. European shares climbed for the first time in three days and Asia's regional benchmark index advanced for a third day.
Consumer Confidence
Today was the first daily change of less than 1 percent for the S&P 500 in more than a week. Retailers fell 1 percent as a group, the most among 24 industry groups in the broad index, after the Conference Board's consumer confidence index slumped to 64.5, a five-year low. The group's measure of expectations for the next six months declined to 47.9, the lowest since 1973. The S&P/Case-Shiller home-price index decreased 10.7 percent in January from a year earlier. The gauge has fallen for 13 straight months.
Monsanto posted the steepest gain in the S&P 500, adding $10.28, or 9.9 percent, to $114.54 and contributing the most to the materials group's 2.8 percent advance. The company raised its full-year earnings forecast to $3.15 to $3.25 a share, from an earlier prediction of as much as $2.80.
Miners Rally
Mining companies gained as a drop in the dollar pushed gold higher and silver, copper and aluminum also rose. Freeport- McMoRan climbed $3.65 to $92.41. Newmont Mining, the world's second-largest gold producer, added $1.36 to $46.82. Alcoa Inc., the third-biggest aluminum producer, increased 70 cents to $35.74 for the biggest gain in the Dow average.
BJ Services Co. led energy shares to their third straight gain. The third-largest provider of natural gas pressure-pumping services rose the most in four years, adding $1.70, or 6.9 percent, to $26.43. Chesapeake Energy Corp., the second-biggest U.S. independent natural-gas producer, yesterday said it plans to spend an extra $275 million next year and $675 million in 2009 to develop a Louisiana discovery and other finds.
Chesapeake added $1.39, or 3.1 percent, to $46.40.
General Growth Properties Inc. rose $2.74, or 7.2 percent, to $41 for the second-biggest gain in the S&P 500. The second- largest U.S. owner of malls plans to raise $821.9 million by selling stock to help pay debt, a week after its credit rating was cut to junk by Standard & Poor's.
Yahoo, Qualcomm
Yahoo Inc. climbed $1.21 to $28.73. The stock was upgraded to ``buy'' from ``hold'' at Citigroup, which also increased its price estimate on the shares to $34 from $31 on expectations that Microsoft Corp. will raise its bid for the most-visited U.S. Web site.
``Microsoft remains committed to its unsolicited $31 bid offer and is capable of and willing to increase that bid in order to conclude this deal,'' Citigroup analysts including San Francisco-based Mark Mahaney wrote in a report dated yesterday.
Qualcomm Inc. added 91 cents to $40.80. Merrill analyst Tal Liani said in a note to clients that demand for third-generation phones should accelerate in 2008, ``regardless of pressure on consumer spending.''
Bank of America, the second-biggest U.S. bank by assets, fell $1.48, or 3.5 percent, to $40.97 for the biggest drop in the Dow average. The stock was downgraded to ``sell'' from ``neutral'' at Merrill Lynch & Co., which also reduced its earnings estimates to account for credit losses.
Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., the biggest underwriter of U.S. mortgage bonds, tumbled $1.43 to $45.21 after analysts at Fox-Pitt Kelton Cochran Caronia Waller reduced profit estimates.
Wall Street banks, brokerages and hedge funds may report $460 billion in credit losses from the collapse of the subprime mortgage market, or almost four times the amount already disclosed, according to Goldman Sachs Group Inc. analysts.
Housing Slump
Home Depot, the largest home-improvement retailer, slid 50 cents to $28.76. Lowe's, its smaller rival, lost 61 cents to $23.68.
Home prices in 20 U.S. metropolitan areas fell in January by the most on record, a sign the housing recession is deepening, a private survey showed. The S&P/Case-Shiller home- price index dropped 10.7 percent in January from a year earlier. The gauge has fallen for 13 consecutive months.
'Headline Risk'
``Very significant headline risk still exists on the financials, on consumer confidence, on housing,'' Uri Landesman, who oversees international equities at ING Investment Management in New York, said in an interview with Bloomberg Television. ING manages $400 billion.
MGIC Investment Corp. fell the most in the S&P 500, sliding $1.05, or 7.9 percent, to a 15-year low of $12.25. The largest U.S. mortgage insurer raised $745 million, more than it projected, with the sale of stock and convertible debt after a record fourth-quarter loss.
Clear Channel Communications slumped $1.89, or 5.5 percent, to $32.56. A planned private-equity buyout of the largest U.S. radio broadcaster, announced in November 2006, is close to falling apart, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing unidentified people familiar with the matter. The banks financing the transaction haven't been able to agree with the buyers on terms, the newspaper said. The shares dropped an additional $5.06, or 16 percent, to $27.50 in extended trading.
The Russell 2000 Index, a benchmark for companies with a median market value of $532 million, gained 0.6 percent to 705.27. The Dow Jones Wilshire 5000 Index, the broadest measure of U.S. shares, rose 0.4 percent to 13,623.61. Based on its advance, the value of stocks increased by $66 billion.
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