YAHOO [BRIEFING.COM]: Early action was choppy and listless as
market participants responded to renewed weakness in
Stocks responded positively to news that pending home sales spiked
in March by 4.1%, which is far greater than the 0.5% increase that economists
polled by Briefing.com had generally expected. The SPDR S&P Homebuilders ETF (XHB
21.35, +0.42) climbed to a near 2% gain shortly after the release of the
report, but that gain was given back before the ETF made a steady ascent
alongside the broad market in afternoon trade.
The broad market had difficulty building on the bit of buying that
followed the pending home sales report, leaving the major equity averages to
chop along in a rather tight range not too far above the neutral line. However,
the tone of trade improved in the afternoon. The buying that ensued put the
broad market on a steady climb that made for a nice extension of the prior
session's advance. The S&P 500 had cleared the 1400 line for before it
eased back to close there. The broad market measure now enters Friday sporting
a week-to-date gain of about 1.6%, which would make for the best weekly
performance in six weeks of trade.
Telecom has been one of the best performers of the past week. The
sector bested every other sector today by advancing another 1.7%, which puts it
on pace for a weekly gain of nearly 4%. Financials, Energy, and Tech -- typical
leaders -- all traded in stride with the broader market, settling with gains of
0.8%, 0.7%, and 0.6%, respectively.
The latest round of earnings proved less impressive than those of
the recent past. Flaws in the reports of Akamai Tech (AKAM 33.15, -5.60), Dow Chemical (DOW 34.85, -1.23), and
Precious metals had a strong session. They extended their gains
with a stead climb that culminated in a 1.1% gain for gold and a 2.5% gain for
silver. The two settled at $1660.30 per ounce and $31.17 per ounce,
respectively.
Crude prices rallied in early pit trade and set a session high of
$104.92 per barrel, but eventually retreated. Additional swings in the last
hour of pit trade took prices back near session highs, but the energy component
closed the session with a 0.4% gain at $104.57 per barrel. Natural gas prices
opened pit trade in positive territory and even spiked to a session high of
$2.19 per MMBtu following weekly inventory data that
showed a build of 47 bcf when a build of 50 bcf had been broadly expected. However, gains were
quickly sold, sending prices back to the unchanged
line. Followng an attempt to recover, prices sold-off
into the close to settle its session with a 2.9% loss at $2.01 per MMBtu.
Advancing Sectors:
Telecom +1.7%, Consumer Discretionary +1.2%, Consumer Staples +0.8%, Financials
+0.8%, Energy +0.7%, Tech +0.6%, Industrials +0.6%, Utilities +0.6%
Declining Sectors:
Health Care -0.1%, Materials -0.2%DJ30 +113.90 NASDAQ +20.98 NQ100 +0.6% R2K
+0.8% SP400 +1.0% SP500 +9.29 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec
1575/1.75 bln/946 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 2048/775 mln/953