Dow +92.81 at 10841.60, Nasdaq +13.70 at 2065.40, S&P +11.17 at 1211.37
Encouraging economic data, upbeat analyst remarks, respectable earnings and subdued action in oil prices extended market gains for the third consecutive session... In fact, widespread buying interest preserved a firmly bullish bias and a day of gains hefty enough to push virtually every sector into positive territory and the Dow and S&P to new highs for the year... The Nasdaq closed higher for the week but finished 23 points shy from a new 2005 high... A stronger than expected upward revision to Q4 GDP provided a foundation of support for equities early on... The Commerce Dept. reported a preliminary read on Q4 GDP of 3.8%, which was above forecasts of 3.7% and higher than the advance report's prior read of 3.1%, due to stronger trade, a surge in business investment and an increase in inventories... Even though the consumer spending component was revised downward to 4.2% (from 4.6%) and the chain deflator checked in at 2.1%, just above consensus and a prior read of 2.0%, no inflation alarms sounded, as the overall data indicated that solid U.S. economic growth should carry over into Q1... Homebuilders (+5.0%) paced the way to the upside, extending yesterday's strong 6.7% performance, following better than expected Jan Existing Home Sales... Sales slipped 0.1% to a seasonally adjusted rate of 6.8 mln but were slightly better than expectations of 6.7 mln, reflecting continued growth in a housing market underpinned by low mortgage rates... Energy (+2.8%) was a close second, taking full advantage of an upgrade from Prudential on ExxonMobil (XOM 63.24 +2.11) and the oil and natural gas sector... With regards to oil, volatility in crude oil futures ($51.49/bbl +$0.10) late in the day heightened the possibility of some profit taking in equities, but buyers showed resolve heading into the weekend as a two-week surge in the commodity appeared to have already run its course... Materials (+1.4%) were another bright spot, lifted in large part by a 4.6% surge in steel stocks, while utility (+2.0%) was also strong after RBC upgraded Duke Energy (DUK 27.42 +0.48)... Retail (+0.7%) was also in focus following strong Q4 earnings from Gap (GPS 21.29 +0.01) and Kohl's Corp (KSS 47.88 +1.98) amid Federated (FD 56.76 -0.25) and May Dept. Stores (MAY 35.28 +1.43) latest efforts to complete their roughly $10 bln merger... Telecom services also made headlines following Qwest's (Q 3.88 -0.32) revised $8 bln bid for MCI (MCIP 22.61 -0.20), but neither stock caught a bid as MCI's CEO reiterated that Verizon (VZ 36.20 +0.70) remained the best fit... Meanwhile, treasuries, which got a modest lift following the revision to Q4 GDP, finished modestly higher as the benchmark 10-year note closed up 4 ticks to yield 4.26%, roughly where it began the week... ..DJTA +1.0%. ..DJUA +2.0%. ..SOX +2.2%. ..DOT -0.3%. ..XOI +1.8%. ..BTK +1.6%. ..Nasdaq 100 +0.6%. ..S&P Midcap 400 +1.2%. ..Russell 2000 +1.6%. ..NYSE Adv/Dec 2565/780. ..NASDAQ Adv/Dec 2040/1089.
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