YAHOO [BRIEFING.COM]: Continued concerns over problems facing countries in the Eurozone periphery couldn't stop the major US equity averages from settling at session highs with strong gains today.

During the prior session stocks rolled over to suffer sizable losses in what many pundits believed was the stock market saying that Spain's request over the weekend for $125 billion to bailout its banks is too little too late. Today, though, stocks staged an impressive advance that saw the major equity averages score strong, broad-based gains. The effort came despite a bailout request by Cyprus, which is the third smallest country in the eurozone with a population of less than 1 million people and an economy that accounts for 0.2% of eurozone GDP, but perhaps more alarmingly that Italy might need financial support and that Spain may need more than a bailout for its banks. Such concerns sent the countries' debt yields higher this morning -- in fact, the yield on Spain's 10-year Note climbed to a record high above 6.8%.

Some stepped in with a bid ahead of the open to lift equity futures, but action in the opening minutes was generally choppy. That gave way to an early slip that sent both the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 to slight losses while the Dow danced narrowly above the neutral line. Before long, though, buyers began to make their way back into the fold. Their efforts took the S&P 500 up to 1320 before resistance interrupted the move. Some selling ensued, but stocks remained resilient and were even squeezed higher into the close.

All 10 major sectors finished the session in positive territory, but the best gains were booked by Materials, Financials, and Industrials. Gains among those sectors ranged from 1.6% to 1.8%. Utilities were at the opposite end of the spectrum. They settled with a gain of only 0.2% after they had spent all morning and early afternoon in the red.

Texas Instruments (TXN 28.24, +0.59) was a strong among the better individual performers following its revised earnings forecast. Company management now expects earnings to range from $0.38 to $0.42 per share after it had previously forecasted that earnings would range from $0.36 to $0.44 per share.

Domestic data was limited to the latest monthly Treasury budget and monthly import and export price data. None was of meaningful concern to market participants, especially when Europe remains in such sharp focus.

The euro also attracted buyers in the face of the persistently precarious conditions facing the eurozone; it mustered a 0.3% gain against the greenback. Treasuries traded lower for the entire session.

The selling effort lifted the yield on the benchmark 10-year Note back above 1.65%. Results from an auction of 3-year Notes failed to inspire a positive response. The offering attracted a Bid-to-Cover of 3.53, Dollar Demand of $113.1 billion, and an Indirect Bidder participation rate of 27.0%. For comparison, the prior auction drew a Bid-to-Cover of 3.65, Dollar Demand of $116.8 billion, and an Indirect Bidder rate of 35.7%, while an average of the past six auctions results in a Bid-to-Cover of 3.52, Dollar Demand of $112.5 billion, and an Indirect Bidder rate of 35.9%.

Crude oil traded in positive territory for most of pit trade. It fell to a session low of $82.60 per barrel in morning action, but quickly rebounded to touch a session high of $83.79 per barrel. It continued to trade in a choppy fashion, ultimately closing with a 0.9% gain at $83.35 per barrel. Natural gas inched higher in morning floor action, trading up to a session high of $2.27 per MMBtu. However, it lost momentum in the afternoon session and fell to a session low of $2.23 per MMBtu moments before settling for a 0.9% gain at $2.24 per MMBtu.

Precious metals rallied out of negative territory moments after pit trade opened. The move came without any corresponding currency action. However, headlines suggesting that a Turkish bank might collect $1 billion in gold deposits by the end of the year was in circulation. Gold set a session high of $1618.90 per ounce before it settled with a 1.1% gain at $1613.70 per ounce. Silver saw its gains challenged as it traded down to just above the unchanged line following the early morning rally, but regained upward traction. It set a session high of $29.05 per ounce and eventually settled with a 1.2% gain at $28.94 per ounce.

Advancing Sectors: Materials +1.8%, Financials +1.7%, Industrials +1.6%, Energy +1.3%, Consumer Discretionary +1.2%, Tech +1.1%, Telecom +1.0%, Health Care +0.9%, Consumer Staples +0.6%, Utilities +0.2%
Declining Sectors: None DJ30 +162.57 NASDAQ +33.34 NQ100 +1.2% R2K +1.3% SP400 +1.1% SP500 +15.25 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1727/1.58 bln/763 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 2360/723 mln/652