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World stock markets move up

12 November 2009 08:46 (UTC +04:00)

Baku - APA-Economics. The stock market managed modest gains Wednesday as a weaker dollar lifted gold and oil prices and Federal Reserve officials signaled that borrowing rates would remain low, AP reported.
The moves in the dollar again tugged at stocks, a pattern that has become familiar in recent months. The market bounded higher in early trading but came off its highest levels as the dollar pulled off of a 15-month low.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose about 20 points in light trading after being up as much as 95 points and hitting a 13-month high. A higher finish on Wednesday would be the sixth straight gain for the Dow.
Trading was light because of the Veterans Day holiday, but volume has been weak for most of the month.
Gold and oil rose as the dollar slipped after several Fed officials said late Tuesday that the economic recovery is likely to be weak. Investors took that as another sign that policymakers will hold interest rates low to help resuscitate growth. The central bank indicated after a policy meeting last week that they wouldn’t raise rates until the economy was on firm footing.
Record-low interest rates and the resulting slide in the dollar have been major forces behind the surge in stocks since the summer. The borrowing costs of near zero are a boon for financial companies, and the weaker dollar helps make U.S. exports cheaper to overseas buyers.
Upbeat news about corporate earnings and global economies also boosted stocks.
Home builders rose after Toll Brothers Inc. said late Tuesday that it saw a 42 percent jump in signed contracts for new homes in its latest quarter.
The French bank Credit Agricole SA posted earnings that topped expectations, while employment rose in Britain for the first time since May 2008. In China, data indicated that a drop in exports was easing.
Analysts said the direction of the dollar likely will continue to dictate trading.
"I don’t see anything that’s changing out there that’s going to stop out dollar from getting weaker," said Ralph Fogel, co-chief investment officer at Fogel Neale Partners in New York.
In late afternoon trading, the Dow rose 21.39, or 0.2 percent, to 10,268.36. The Dow rose as high as 10,341.97, its best level since Oct. 3, 2008.
The Dow’s advance was significant for traders who track stock charts. The index briefly topped 10,334, the level that marked the halfway point in its recovery since tumbling to a 12-year low of 6,574 on March 9.
The broader Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 5.40, or 0.5 percent, to 1,098.41 and topped 1,100 for the first time since last year. It hit a 13-month high of 1,105.37 â€” also its best level since Oct. 3 last year.
The Nasdaq composite index rose 13.43, or 0.6 percent, to 2,164.51.
The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 3.38, or 0.6 percent, to 590.31.
Bond markets were closed.
Crude oil rose 23 cents to $79.28 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Gold ended up $12.10 at $1,114.60 an ounce after trading as high as $1119.10.
Toll Brothers jumped $3.09, or 16.8 percent, to $21.48 after its report. That lifted other home builders. Pulte Homes Inc. rose 74 cents, or 7.8 percent, to $10.20, while Beazer Homes USA Inc. advanced 53 cents, or 10.4 percent, to $5.63.
Gold producer Newmont Mining Corp. rose $1.06, or 2.1 percent, to $51.52 and hit a 12-month high.
Macy’s Inc.’s fell after it didn’t increase its full-year earnings and sales forecasts as much as analysts had hoped. The stock fell $1.53, or 7.9 percent, to $17.90.
Reports from retailers are important because investors are worried that the economy won’t be able to sustain its recovery if consumers don’t step up their spending.
Investors will be looking for signals about the economy Thursday when Wal-Mart Stores Inc. as well as the department store chains Kohl’s Corp. and Nordstrom Inc. post quarterly numbers. Walt Disney Co. is also slated to report.
Three stocks rose for every two that fell on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume came to 629.4 million shares compared with 623.4 million shares traded at the same point Tuesday.
Overseas, Japan’s Nikkei stock average rose 0.1 percent. Britain’s FTSE 100 rose 0.7 percent, Germany’s DAX index rose 1 percent, and France’s CAC-40 added 0.8 percent.