YAHOO [BRIEFING.COM]: Equities settled with modest gains as the S&P 500 climbed 0.4% while the Dow added 0.2%.

The S&P was cruising near its highs before a late afternoon headline from German Handelsblatt cited a confidential Bundesbank opinion paper, which strongly opposed the European Central Bank's implementation of Outright Monetary Transactions.

Until the news hit, quarterly earnings were in focus after more than 250 companies covered by Briefing.com reported their results between yesterday's closing bell and today's open.

The Dow underperformed the broader market as two of its largest components weighed. 3M (MMM 104.88, -2.99) lost 2.8% after missing on earnings and revenue. In addition, Exxon Mobil (XOM 88.07, -1.36) shed 1.5% after the company posted a 12.3% year-over-year revenue decline.

The materials sector was a strong performer throughout the day as the SPDR Materials Select Sector ETF (XLB 39.46, +0.43) settled higher by 1.1%. Better-than-expected earnings from Cliffs Natural Resources (CLF 20.95, +2.73) supported other steelmakers as the Market Vectors Steel ETF (SLX 42.06, +0.55) settled higher by 1.3%.

In addition, miners also showed relative strength as precious metals rallied. Gold futures advanced 2.8% to $1462.80 per troy ounce while silver futures spiked 6.2% to $24.25 per troy ounce. Also of note, copper rose 2.8% to $3.247 per pound.

While the materials sector was the clear leader throughout the day, other cyclical groups outperformed as well.

Discretionary stocks were supported by retailers and homebuilders. The SPDR S&P Retail ETF (XRT 73.31, +1.17) added 1.6% while the SPDR S&P Homebuilders ETF (XHB 30.40, +0.42) rose 1.4% on better-than-expected earnings from Ryland Group (RYL 44.94, +3.24) and PulteGroup (PHM 20.79, +1.10). While both builders surpassed bottom-line expectations, revenues proved to be more of a mixed bag as Ryland was able to beat estimates while PulteGroup's top-line fell short of analyst expectations.

Technology stocks showed intraday strength, but the sector sold off into the close as cautious earnings and revenue guidance from Qualcomm (QCOM 62.44, -3.56) weighed.

With most growth-oriented groups contributing to today's advance, defensively-geared sectors lagged behind the broader market. However, the telecom space bucked the trend after reports indicated Verizon Communications (VZ 53.22, +1.42) may be preparing a $100 billion bid to gain full control of Vodafone's (VOD 30.43, +0.84) stake in Verizon Wireless. However, speculation regarding Verizon's attempt to gain full control of Verizon Wireless has circulated before.

Today's economic news was limited to weekly claims data. The initial claims level fell to 339,000 for the week ending April 20 from an upwardly revised 355,000 (from 352,000) for the week ending April 13. The Briefing.com consensus expected the initial claims level to drop to 351,000.

After several weeks of volatility following seasonal adjustment problems associated with the Easter holiday period, the initial claims level has again returned to its previous trend. The Department of Labor announced that the period of large swings in the weekly claims level is ending.

Tomorrow, first-quarter advance GDP will be reported at 8:30 ET while the final April Michigan Sentiment Survey will be released at 9:55 ET.DJ30 +24.50 NASDAQ +20.33 SP500 +6.37 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1538/1.86 bln/913 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1950/746.3 mln/1044

3:30 pm :

• June crude oil advanced for a second consecutive session on a weaker dollar index and comments that the U.S. believes that Syria has used chemical weapons to some degree. The energy component trended upwards after lifting off a session low of $91.11per barrel and settled with a 2.4% gain at $93.63 per barrel, just below its session high of $93.87 per barrel.
• June natural gas rallied to a session high of $4.29 per MBMtu following inventory data that showed a build of 30 bcf when a build of 32 bcf was anticipated. However, prices quickly dropped back towards the breakeven level and were unable to regain momentum. Natural gas eventually settled unchanged at $4.20 per MMBtu.
• June gold extended yesterday's gains as a weaker dollar index and data from the IMF showing Russia, Kazakhstan, and other central banks purchased gold in March boosted prices. The yellow metal steadily climbed higher and settled with a 2.7% gain at $1461.90 per ounce, just below its session high of $1464.90 per ounce.
• May silver also saw strong buying support during today's floor trade. It lifted off its session low of $23.51 per ounce and advanced as high as $24.25 per ounce. It eventually settled at $24.14 per ounce, booking a solid 5.7% gain.